7.6-magnitude earthquake hits New Caledonia

New Caledonia on Wednesday ordered the evacuation of coastal areas following a tsunami warning after a powerful undersea earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck off the east coast of the French territory.

The quake was just 10 km (6 miles) deep and about 155 km (95 miles) east-southeast of the Loyalty Islands, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

Authorities in the South Pacific



territory urged people to move to locations more than 300 metres (984 ft) distant from the shore, and if possible, to sites higher than 12 metres (39 ft) above sea level.

"We have set off the alarm on the exterior of New Caledonia but we don't have any immediate assessment of potential damage," said a spokeswoman for the Directorate for Civil Protection and Risk Management.