Powerful earthquake hits off New Caledonia

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a powerful undersea earthquake measuring a magnitude 7.1 struck near New Caledonia in the South Pacific on today creating small tsunami waves. The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km some 372 km east of the New Caledonian capital Noumea. It was



initially reported as magnitude 7. 

The centre said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat but added that waves of about 17 cm high reached the shores of the Loyalty Islands, 250 km east of the epicentre. No damage was reported.