New Caledonia lifts tsunami warning triggered by Pacific Ocean earthquake
New Caledonia has lifted a tsunami warning triggered after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Friday in the Pacific Ocean southwest of the island, AFP reports.
The quake was detected at a depth of 37 kilometres (23 miles), the US Geological Service said.
Following the warning, authorities ordered an evacuation of coastal areas. Warning sirens had been activated and people were asked to leave areas near the island's coastline, Colonel Marchi Leccia, a security official, told a local radio station. An AFP journalist reported that at least one beach had been evacuated.
Tzunami waves of one-to-three metres (six-to-nine feet) above tide were possible along some coastal areas of Vanuatu, the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
It also warned of possible smaller tsunami waves of 0.3-1.0 metres in New Caledonia, Fiji, Kiribati and New Zealand.
