The quake briefly prompted a tsunami alert for parts of Vanuatu, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which is part of the National Weather Service. As of 2:14 p.m. local time, U.S. officials said the threat had passed.

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake rattled buildings on Vanuatu's main island early Sunday but did not appear to have caused major damage, just days after a massive, deadly quake wreaked havoc on the Pacific archipelago.

Rescuers say they have expanded a search for trapped survivors in quake-rocked Vanuatu to "numerous places of collapse" beyond the capital on Friday, after the death toll climbed to at

A second earthquake in just five days has struck the Vanuatu Islands in the early hours of Sunday morning. The magnitude 6.2 quake follows a magnitude 7.3 that killed 14 people on Tuesday. Flights to Vanuatu's capital had just reopened after the first quake which toppled buildings,