The shallow earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands today around 4.18am GMT (UTC). Preliminary tests show the tremors occurred at a depth of mourned six miles (10km). Two aftershocks were later recorded at 5.9 magnitude and 5.7 magnitude north of the island. The tsunami threat has now passed but officials expect sea fluctuations to affect coastal areas.

TSUNAMI WAVES seen after two HUGE earthquakes strike off New Caledonia

Residents of New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji are urged to “remain alert” and cautious when near the sea.

The update comes after the PTWC warned of tsunami waves up 9.8ft (3m) tall along the coasts of New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

At 7.09am GMT the PTWC said: “The tsunami threat from the 7.6 magnitude earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands has now largely passed.

“Minor sea level fluctuations up to 0.3m may continue over the next few hours.” </s> There are reports of houses being damaged and destroyed on a remote island in Vanuatu's south, after several tsunami waves hit coastal areas yesterday afternoon, following a magnitude-7.5 earthquake.

The US National Tsunami Centre said the quake struck at a depth of around 10 kilometres just after 3:00pm (local time), about 168 kilometres east of the nearest population centre, Tadine, on New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands.

There are no reported casualties, but people in both Vanuatu and New Caledonia are this morning assessing the damage.

Residents on Aneityum, the southern-most inhabited island in Vanuatu, told Pacific Beat there had been as many as four waves hitting the island, and at least five homes had been destroyed.

Photos posted to social media showed debris strewn across beaches, and water marks metres inland.

Resident Joseph Yasifu, who is a tour operator based in Aneityum, said people did not hear a warning in his village of Umej, and only started running to higher ground when the first wave hit.

In New Caledonia, Deputy Director-General of the Pacific Community Cameron Diver, said there was ample warning for people in Noumea to evacuate, and alert sirens went off in the Loyalty Islands.

But he said areas were hit by waves of up to 2 metres, and he expected "significant coastal erosion". </s> Powerful quake hits off New Caledonia generating small tsunami waves through South Pacific islands

An undersea earthquake measured at magnitude 7.1 struck near New Caledonia in the South Pacific, creating small tsunami waves, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

The quake struck at 1:50pm AEST at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, 372 kilometres 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 17 centimetres high reached the shores of the Loyalty Islands, 250 kilometres west of the epicentre.

Tsunami waves as tall as a metre above the tide level were possible along the coasts of Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

"We felt it and they felt it more strongly on the Loyalty Islands," Civil Defence spokesman Olivier Ciry said by phone from Noumea.

"But there is nothing to say. There is no damage, no tsunami and we don't expect anything else," he said. </s> Tsunami warnings for New Caledonia, Vanuatu after magnitude-7.5 earthquake

Tsunami waves have been seen after a magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck off the coast of New Caledonia.

The US National Tsunami Centre said the quake struck at a shallow depth of around 10 kilometres just after 3:00pm (local time) about 168 kilometres east of the nearest populated city, Tadine, on New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands.

"Hazardous tsunami waves" were forecast for Vanuatu and New Caledonia by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC).

PTWC said waves 1 to 3 metres above the tide level could hit New Caledonia and Vanuatu and confirmed "tsunami waves have been observed" at about 3:45pm (AEST).

Vanuatu's government released a statement saying it was not expecting a "destructive tsunami".

The earthquake's epicentre was about 310 kilometres away from New Caledonia's capital, Noumea.

"That is pretty far away," USGS's Rafael Abreu said.

"We wouldn't expect to see any significant damage from that far away from the ground-shaking related to this event."

According to PTWC, any waves that hit Australia as a result of the tremor would be less than 30 centimetres tall.

At least five aftershocks also hit, ranging in magnitude from 5.6 to 6.

New Caledonia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" — the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes and volcanic activity occur. </s> A massive earthquake has struck beneath the waters of the South Pacific, and dangerously powerful waves may soon follow. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is cautioning that the magnitude 7.6 quake, which struck Wednesday afternoon local time, could pose risks for Vanuatu and the nearby island chain of New Caledonia.

"Hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1000 km [roughly 620 miles] of the earthquake epicenter," the service said.

The epicenter was recorded just over 100 miles southeast of Tadine, a town on the Loyalty Islands, which are part of New Caledonia. The region's high commission ordered residents to immediately evacuate to high ground and refuge areas, according to The Guardian.

New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, has a population of about 259,000.

Meanwhile Vanuatu, an independent archipelago nation, also faces the risk of a tsunami. The PTWC warned that the country's Anatom and Epertu islands both could see dangerous waves within an hour or two of the earthquake's strike.

New Zealand, for its part, quickly announced that its residents would face "no tsunami threat." </s> Sydney: A tsunami warning was issued for New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu on Wednesday after a strong earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, although seismologists said there were no immediate reports of damage.

After the 7.1 magnitude quake struck off the eastern coast of New Caledonia, "waves reaching 0.3 to 1 metre above the tide level are possible", the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

It urged anyone near the coast to "stay alert" and follow instructions from local authorities.

Smaller waves were forecast for other Pacific nations including the Marshall islands, Samoa and New Zealand, although New Zealand was quick to distance the country from any threat.

"We want to confirm that there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand from this earthquake," said the ministry of civil defence and emergency management.

Jonathan Hanson, duty seismologist at New Zealand's GNS Science, also downplayed any major threat to Pacific nations, saying the epicentre was some distance from inhabited islands and the tsunami wave warnings were modest.

"The tsunami wave sizes we've seen reported are 16-17 centimetres (6.3-6.7 inches) at two New Caledonia stations. At those sizes we wouldn't expect any damage," he told AFP.

The tremor hit at a depth of 27 kilometres (17 miles) in the southern Pacific Ocean, some 231 kilometres from the nearest town Tadine in the lightly-populated Loyalty Islands, the US Geological Survey said.

Geoscience Australia said shaking would have been felt throughout New Caledonia, but it put the damage radius at 103 kilometres — well away from land.

New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, Fiji and Vanuatu are located within the "Ring of Fire", a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. </s> SYDNEY: A powerful undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck near New Caledonia in the South Pacific on Wednesday (Aug 29), creating small tsunami waves, officials in the region said.

The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km some 372 km east of the New Caledonian capital, Noumea, according to the US Geological Survey. It was initially reported as magnitude 7.

No damage was reported but hazardous tsunami waves of up to a metre were possible in New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a bulletin.

Waves measuring 30 cm were possible on island coastlines around the Pacific and as far away as Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, it said.

New Caledonia's Civil Defence spokesman Olivier Ciry said waves measuring 40 cm were recorded on the main island of New Caledonia.

They only reached 5 cm high at the Loyalty Islands, which are about 100 km closer to the epicentre, he said.

"We felt it and they felt it more strongly on the Loyalty Islands ... there was some movement of the sea but no damage to buildings, no injuries to people and it's over now," Ciry said.

Laisenia Rawace, technical officer at Fiji's seismology monitoring department, said by phone from Suva: "We're still monitoring it and on standby but there's nothing on the tide gauges for the time being."

The area is located on the earthquake-prone Pacific Rim of Fire. The latest tremor struck 10 days after a massive but very deep quake rocked the sea floor near Fiji and 11 months after big quakes hit near the Loyalty Islands, also without damage. </s> A powerful undersea earthquake measuring a magnitude 7.1 struck near New Caledonia in the South Pacific on Wednesday, creating small tsunami waves, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles) some 372 km (230 miles) east of the New Caledonian capital Noumea. It was initially reported as magnitude 7.

The center said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat but added that waves 17 cm (7 inches) high reached the shores of the Loyalty Islands, 250 km (155 miles) east of the epicenter.

“We felt it and they felt it more strongly on the Loyalty Islands,” Civil Defense spokesman Olivier Ciry told Reuters by phone from Noumea.

“But there is nothing to say. There is no damage, no tsunami and we don’t expect anything else,” he said. </s> The islands of New Caledonia have been subject to tsunami warnings this morning, after an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck oceans close by.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre have warned people to retreat 300m away from shorelines, and get to 12m above sea level if possible.

Despite the region experiencing regular earthquakes, tsunami warnings are more rare.

But where is the island, and what is the current threat level.

The French territory, made up of a number of islands in the Pacific, is around 1,500 miles north of New Zealand.

The archipelago is part of the Melanesia subregion, and has a land area of 7,172 sqare miles and population of almost 270,000.

In New Caledonia, the main islands include Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, and the Isle of Pines.

Natives of the territory are called the Kanak people, but inhabitants also include Europeans, Polynesians, and Asians.

It sits on something called the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, on a series of seismic faults. As a result of this, it’s been the location of a number of extreme weather events.

The current weather situation means tsunami waves of between 3ft and 10ft may be possible along some coasts of New Caledonia and Vanuatu, while waves of up to 3ft were possible in Fiji.

According to the US Geological Survey, the original earthquake struck about 104 miles east of Tadine in New Caledonia at a shallow depth of six miles.

Earthquakes that hit shallow depths are usually more dangerous, which prompted fears about tsunami waves possibly hitting nearby islands.

The island of Vanuatu, however, only saw waves travelling a few metres beyond normal tides, which may mean New Caledonia will also be safe.

At this point the threat is still in place, though, despite the islanders stating there has been no damage so far.

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Tsunami waves reportedly strike parts of New Caledonia and northern Vanuatu following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake centered near the Loyalty Islands.