Tropical Cyclone Sandra affects Vanuatu

Sandra formed as a tropical storm over the southern Pacific Ocean on March 7, 2013, and strengthened into a cyclone two days later. On March 11, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Sandra was located roughly 350 nautical miles (650 kilometers) northwest of Nouméa, New Caledonia. 

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Magnitude 8 Earthquake Hits The Solomon Islands

Today's M 8.0 earthquake in the Solomon Islands occurred as a result of shallow thrust faulting on or near the plate boundary interface between the Australia and Pacific plates. In the region of this earthquake, the Australia plate converges with and subducts beneath the Pacific plate, moving towards the east-northeast at a rate of approximately 94 mm/yr.

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