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Powerful 7.7 Earthquake Hits South Pacific, No Reported Damage

by VOA News

   The U.S. Geological Survey says a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck
   Friday in the south Pacific, prompting tsunami warnings that were later
   lifted for the Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

   The USGS says the quake happened at 02:57 Universal Time 334 kilometers
   east of the city of Vao on New Caledonia, or 436 kilometers southwest
   of Vanuatu.

   Another large quake -- a magnitude 5.9 -- was recorded in the same area
   about 10 minutes later.

   The quake zone is southwest of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of
   Australia, where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific.

   The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued a tsunami warning for
   the region with the possibility of destructive waves up to one meter
   high. It was later lifted.

   Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office issued a tsunami
   advisory, and residents were advised to seek higher ground. French news
   agency Agence France-Presse posted video of residents in New
   Caledonia's capital, Noumea, on a hillside watching for developments.

   Some areas of Vanuatu reported waves about half a meter above normal
   tide level.

   In its report, the USGS said the earthquake was the "result of normal
   faulting near the plate boundary interface between the Australia and
   Pacific plates." It said, "Earthquakes of this size are more
   appropriately described as slip over a larger fault area."

   The region is part of the "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults
   around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur.

   Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press,
   Reuters and Agence France-Presse.