M5.5 earthquake · 5 km ESE of Asahi, Japan

■ Steady

M5.5 quake near Asahi, Japan, follows Reykjanes Ridge and Vanuatu clusters

On Wednesday a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 5 km ESE of Asahi, Japan, at 41 km depth, with 3 felt reports. Earlier on Wednesday the Reykjanes Ridge recorded three quakes of magnitude 5.0 to 5.5, and an offshore area northwest of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, saw several quakes including a magnitude 6.0. The Vanuatu sequence has run since Sunday and Monday, and the USGS PAGER alert level was green for the events where one was issued.

• The strongest quake in the period was a magnitude 6.0 about 214 km NW of Port-Olry, Vanuatu, early on Wednesday, with a green PAGER alert.
• Reykjanes Ridge had magnitude 5.5, 5.0 and 5.0 quakes, all at 10 km depth, on Wednesday.
• Quakes of magnitude 5.1 and 5.2 hit near Balangonan, Philippines, late Tuesday and early Wednesday, with felt reports.
• Other magnitude 5.0 or higher quakes were recorded in Russia, China, Guam, Panama, Indonesia, Tonga and Fiji.