Europe 1 with AFP 06:20, May 19, 2023

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 was recorded Friday in southeastern New Caledonia. A tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred Friday in the Pacific Ocean southeast of New Caledonia, triggering a tsunami warning, the US Geophysical Institute (USGS) said. The tremor was detected at a depth of 37 km and 333.8 km from the Caledonian coast, according to the same source.

A tidal wave is "possible" within a radius of 1,000 km around the epicenter

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) believes that a tidal wave is "possible" within a radius of 1,000 km around the epicenter. "Based on the preliminary parameters of the earthquake, dangerous tsunami waves are possible on coasts within 1,000 km of the earthquake epicenter," the PTWC said in a bulletin.

The centre urges residents of threatened coastal areas to remain vigilant. A hotel receptionist in Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, told AFP she had not felt any shaking.