Wellington, New Zealand ? Thousands of panicked South Pacific islanders raced away from the coastline after three strong earthquakes rocked the region and generated a small tsunami today, just over a week after a massive wave killed 178 people in the Samoas and Tonga.

There were no immediate reports of damage, and all tsunami warnings and watches were soon canceled. But people across the South Pacific took no chances, scrambling up hillsides and maneuvering through traffic-clogged streets to reach higher ground.

“There is panic here, too,” Chris McKee, assistant director of the Geophysical Observatory in the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby, told The Associated Press. “Offices have closed. People have rushed out onto the streets and are climbing hills. A lot of places have shut down. … We tried to put the dampeners on it, but it was already out of hand.”

There were no immediate reports of injury or damage from officials in Vanuatu, a chain of 83 islands. It lies about 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.