A magnitude 7.1 quake hit about 230 kilometres east of Tadine in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands.

A strong earthquake has struck in the Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia but experts say there isn't a tsunami threat.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 7.1 quake hit Wednesday afternoon about 230 kilometres east of Tadine in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands.

The quake was about 290km from Isangel in Vanuatu. The USGS says it was about 26km deep.

There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

READ MORE:

* Tsunami waves hit alert New Caledonia and Vanuatu after big quake hits Pacific

* 6.8m earthquake near Tonga and Samoa

* Deep 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes cyclone-affected Vanuatu

* Magnitude 5.7 quake hits north of Vanuatu

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says it does not expect a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami and there is no threat to Hawaii.

New Caledonia and Vanuatu sit on the Pacific's 'Ring of Fire', an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.

The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management have said there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand.

Earlier in the same day, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake rattled a wide area of Southern California. But there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The temblor struck about 7.33pm (local time) and was centered about 4.8km north of La Verne, a San Gabriel Valley city about 40km east of downtown Los Angeles, according to a preliminary report by the US Geological Survey.

It was followed a minute later by a magnitude 3.4 quake.

The quake was about four miles deep, but it was felt sharply near the epicentre.

Vickie Carillo and her son were sitting on the couch of their La Verne home, watching Jaws 2, when the quake struck. "It was like if somebody had grabbed it and was shaking the house," Carillo told the Los Angeles Times.

Carillo said she screamed. Her family picked up their two Jack Russell terriers and ran outside, where they joined about a dozen neighbours.

STUFF Victor Flores said the California earthquake moved his whole house and sounded "like thunder".

Victor Flores said the temblor violently shook his two-story house in the hills.

"It was moving the whole house," he told the Times. "It shook hard for what seemed like 10 to 20 seconds, and then it just kept going. It was really loud too, kind of like thunder. It just hit really hard and quick."

The temblor made the water slosh in his swimming pool, Flores added.

The quake shook buildings for several seconds in downtown Los Angeles. It was also felt as a rolling motion dozens of miles away and as far away as the San Diego area, about 160km south.</s>The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre recorded the huge earthquake at 2.52pm local time (4.52am BST today) . 



The quake had a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles), which is around 372 km (230 miles) east of Noumea, the Caledonian capital. 



The epicentre was 22.2 degrees south and 170.0 degrees east. 



However, no tsunami warning has been issued in any part of the Pacific. The biggest waves were recorded at just over one foot (0.3m) high and they hit the main island of New Caledonia without causing any damage. 



Olivier Ciry, the civil defence spokesman of the French Pacific territory, 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.”



How many islands were affected by the 7.1 magnitude quake? The earthquake struck southeast of New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands.



These are an isolated archipelago in the Pacific part of the French territory of New Caledonia, which has a population of 278,000, according to the 2016 census.



The Loyalty Islands are very active seismically. 



The region is located within 250 km of the New Caledonia earthquake has resulted in at least 20 other magnitude 7 and above earthquakes over the last century.

The biggest earthquake was a magnitude 7.7 in May 1995, which occurred around 100 km south of today’s quake. 



The earthquake was also located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of 452 volcanoes that stretch from the southern tip of South America, up the coast of the Americas, across the Bering Strait, down through Japan and into New Zealand.



More than 30 earthquakes were recorded along the Ring of Fire in the last 24 hours, according to the US Geological Survey. 



Around 90 per cent of all earthquakes occur along the Pacific basin. The biggest waves were recorded at just over one foot (0.3m) high and they hit the main island of New Caledonia without causing any damage. 



Olivier Ciry, the civil defence spokesman of the French Pacific territory, 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.”



How many islands were affected by the 7.1 magnitude quake? The earthquake struck southeast of New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands.



These are an isolated archipelago in the Pacific part of the French territory of New Caledonia, which has a population of 278,000, according to the 2016 census.



The Loyalty Islands are very active seismically. 



The region is located within 250 km of the New Caledonia earthquake has resulted in at least 20 other magnitude 7 and above earthquakes over the last century.

The biggest earthquake was a magnitude 7.7 in May 1995, which occurred around 100 km south of today’s quake. 



The earthquake was also located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of 452 volcanoes that stretch from the southern tip of South America, up the coast of the Americas, across the Bering Strait, down through Japan and into New Zealand.



More than 30 earthquakes were recorded along the Ring of Fire in the last 24 hours, according to the US Geological Survey. 



Around 90 per cent of all earthquakes occur along the Pacific basin.</s>There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands today.

There is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands today.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a “destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected” based on available data. The earthquake was reported at 5:52 p.m. Hawaii time.

The Loyalty Islands are part of New Caledonia, located east of Australia.</s>Sydney, Australia, Aug 29 (efe-epa)-. An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 Wednesday hit the waters south-east of New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, an archipelago of the French territory in the South Pacific, although no casualties or damages have been reported yet by the authorities.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which records seismic activities around the world, located the hypocenter at a depth of 26 kilometers (16.1 miles) under the seabed.</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>It struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (six miles) some 372 km (230 miles) east of the New Caledonian capital Noumea.

The Centre said there was no Pacific-wide tsunami threat.

In a statement, it said: “Based on earthquake information and historic tsunami records, the earthquake is not expected to generate a tsunami.”

The quake hit southeast of New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands, an isolated archipelago in the Pacific part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose population is 278,000 as of the 2016 census.</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>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>A powerful undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck near New Caledonia in the South Pacific Wednesday, officials in the region said, adding that small tsunami waves were generated. The quake struck at a shallow depth of 10km, around 372km 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 meter were possible in New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. Waves measuring 30cm were possible on island coastlines around the Pacific and as far away as Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand, Reuters reported.</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.
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.