7.3 magnitude earthquake hits east of New Caledonia, tsunami alert issued

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.3 magnitude has hit off the east coast of New Caledonia on Monday in the tectonically active Pacific region, the US Geological Survey said.

According to the initial data from the survey, the tremor hit at a depth 25 kilometres some 85 kilometres to the east of the lightly populated Loyalty Islands.

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has issued a tsunami alert 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.