A magnitude 7.0 earthquake has struck in the Pacific near the overseas French territory of New Caledonia, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reports. Tsunami waves have been observed after the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) reports. The quake was centered 82 km (51 miles) east-northeast of Tadine, on Mare Island, which has a population of over 5,600. The epicenter was 10 km (6 miles) deep.
The numbers have been revised by USGS from earlier reports, which placed the epicenter 68 km from Tadine and 25 km deep, and reported its magnitude as 7.3. The PTWC has warned of “hazardous tsunami waves” possible for coasts within 300 km of the epicenter, which puts the Loyalty Islands archipelago, with a population of over 17,000, within range. It later issued a message saying tsunami waves “have been observed.” READ MORE
