A powerful 7 magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of New Caledonia today in the tectonically active Pacific region. As per the US Geological Survey' initial data, the tremor hit at a depth of 25 kilometres some 85 kilometres to the east of the lightly populated Loyalty Islands. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, saying wave heights would vary depending on coastlines and that the initial wave may not be the largest. <br/>The quake was the second major tremor in the same area in less than 24 hours and the third in the past month.

A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of New Caledonia today in the tectonically active Pacific region. As per the US Geological Survey' initial data, the tremor hit at a depth of 25 kilometres some 85 kilometres to the east of the lightly populated Loyalty Islands. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, saying wave heights would vary depending on coastlines and that the initial wave may not be the largest. <br/>The quake was the second major tremor in the same area in less than 24 hours and the third in the past month.