SYDNEY, Jan. 3 Kyodo

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu early Thursday morning, according to Australian seismologists.

No deaths have so far been reported, but there are signs of structural damage to bridges and buildings, as well as landslides.

Geoscience Australia, the national agency for geoscience research and information, put the quake's epicenter 50 kilometers west of the capital Port Vila. The earthquake struck at 4:22 a.m. local time and was followed by a strong aftershock.

It was the biggest recorded earthquake in the region since 1994, according to Geoscience Australia, which said the quake may have been felt up to 2,000 km away.

Vanuatu is a group of about 80 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean about 2,400 km northeast of Sydney. Port Vila is located on the island of Efate.

A spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Kyodo News that both the Australian High Commission and the British High Commission, which are housed in the same building in Port Vila, were evacuated Thursday.

''The building was evacuated this morning because of fears that structural damage may have been done,'' the spokesman said.

''The building had some cracks to internal walls, but has been declared structurally safe. There was some damage to communications equipment including telephones, but it will reopen for business tomorrow,'' he said.

Although they have not received a formal request for aid from Vanuatu, Australia has offered emergency management expertise in the wake of the earthquake, the spokesman said.

''At this stage we have offered funding assistance for aerial surveillance to assess the damage caused by the earthquake,'' he said.

''We also have arrangements in place to fly out the AusAid (Australia's overseas aid program) emergency response coordinator to Port Vila to help with damage assessment work,'' he said.

The spokesman said that any other assistance will depend on the outcome of damage assessments.

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