(Sydney) A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred Friday in the Pacific Ocean southeast of New Caledonia, triggering a tsunami warning, announced the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS).
The tremor was detected at a depth of 37 km and 333.8 km from the Caledonian coast, according to the same source.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), for its part, estimates that a tidal wave is “possible” within a radius of 1000 km around the epicentre.
“Based on preliminary earthquake parameters, dangerous tsunami waves are possible on coasts within 1,000 km of the earthquake’s epicenter,” the PTWC said in a bulletin.
The center urges residents of threatened coastal areas to remain vigilant.
A hotel receptionist in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, told AFP she did not feel any tremors.