7.7 Magnitude Earthquake in Loyalty Islands: Tsunami Alert Raised in New Caledonia

Authorities in New Caledonia have raised a tsunami alert, following the violent earthquake that hit the Loyalty Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

The authorities had said, earlier, that a tsunami warning was issued today, Friday, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred southeast of the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia. Security forces evacuated the coast of New Caledonia after warning of a tsunami, according to the Civil Defense Authority.

Colonel Marchi Lechia, director of civil defense in New Caledonia, told Radio New Caledonia that tsunami warning sirens had been sounded and residents were told to move away from the coast.

And before that, the US Geological Survey stated that the earthquake was at a depth of ten kilometers.

According to the US tsunami warning system, the earthquake was followed by a warning of a possible tsunami in New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami was “possible” to occur within a radius of 1,000 km around the epicenter.

“Based on preliminary earthquake data, dangerous tsunamis are likely to occur on coasts located 1,000 kilometers from the epicenter,” the center said in a statement.

The center urged residents of the threatened coastal areas to exercise caution.

A receptionist in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, told AFP she had not felt any earthquakes.

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2023-05-19 05:26:15