Major earthquake hits Vanuatu

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake has struck the Vanuatu region in the south Pacific, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The undersea quake was at a depth of 10 kilometres below the earth's surface on November 22 and appears to have struck just north of Maewo, one of the country's easternmost islands.

No reports have emerged of widespread destruction or any loss of life or injury on the islands.

Earthquakes with a magnitude of between 6.1 and 6.9 are said to cause "a lot of damage in very populated areas".

Australia's Joint Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat to east coast.

Around 2000 seismic events are reported in Vanuatu each year.

This is the island nation's second major earthquake of the year after a magnitude 7 quake struck Espiritu Santo on January 8.

The January quake caused "major damage" on the island.

A month later Vanuatu was whipped by a category four storm, Tropical Cyclone Judy, on February 28.