TADINE, LOYALTY ISLANDS -- A powerful earthquake struck northeast of the Loyalty Islands in the South Pacific on early Friday morning, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The 7.0-magnitude earthquake at 3.16 a.m. local time (1616 GMT Thursday) was centered about 125 kilometers (80 miles) north-northeast of Tadine, a town on Maré Island of the Loyalty Islands, which are part of New Caledonia, a French territory. It struck about 4.6 kilometers (2.9 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The earthquake was initially reported to have a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale but was later revised down after seismologists at the USGS had better studied the data. The agency estimated that more than 200,000 people in the region may have felt light to moderate shaking.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami watch or warning after the earthquake, despite its strength and shallow depth. It added, however, that such quakes sometimes can generate smaller, local waves.
Nearly 30 minutes after the initial earthquake, a strong 5.9-magnitude aftershock rattled the same area. It was centered about 5 kilometers (5 miles) from the epicenter of the first quake.
No damage or casualties were immediately reported.
