earthquakes

A 6.9 magnitude at the depth of 10 kilometres and was located 279km southeast of the Loyalty Islands around 8am local time.

A second 4.5 magnitude earthquake struck about an hour and a half later, 263km southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

No tsunami alert has been launched and no injuries or damage has been reported.

The first earthquake was originally reported to be a 6.7 magnitude earthquake but the USGS upgraded it to a 6.9 not long after.

Another powerful quake struck near Kirakira this morning - a 6.7 magnitude quake at a depth of 33km.

The undersea quake hit 71km west of the city of Kirakira, which is on the country's biggest island, Makira.

National Disaster Management Office director Loti Yates said there was no tsunami threat from this morning's quake but he was expecting more reports of damage.

Mr Yates said multiple quakes of magnitude 5 and above have hampered relief operations still under way in the Makira area.

Luca Ceriscioli said quakes and snow had caused landslides and thousands of families were suffering power cuts, with some villages left isolated.

A man was killed and another reported missing in the nearby Abruzzo region.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker vowed EU solidarity with Italy after the tremors.

Marche was one of the regions worst hit by the earthquake of 24 August, with 46 of its 298 victims losing their lives in a single mountain village there, Pescara del Tronto.

The Kyodo news agency says about 40 people are being treated at a hospital in Kumamoto, some of them seriously injured, and the government says at least 19 buildings have collapsed. At least two deaths occurred in the town of Mashiki, where the shaking was most severe. The town lies 15km east of Kumamoto.

MyShake, available on Android phones, links users to become an all-in-one earthquake warning system; it records quake-type rumblings, ties a critical number of users to a location, and could eventually provide a countdown to the start of shaking.