A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean on October 31, 2017.
The shallow earthquake hit at a depth of 29.4 kilometers at around 00:42 GMT with the epicenter located some 109 kilometers (around 68 miles) southeast of the town of Tadine, on the Loyalty Islands part of the archipelago.
USGS first reported a M7.0 earthquake, which was then downgraded to M6.8 at a depth of 11.1 km (6.9 miles). Geoscience Australia reported the major quake as a M7.0 at a depth of 17 km (10.6 miles) and EMSC as a M6.8 at a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles).
Prelim M6.8 earthquake Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia Oct-31 00:42 UTC, updates https://t.co/Z4vGMsk2Fo, 0 #quake tweets/min
— USGSted (@USGSted) October 31, 2017
Despite such a strong magnitude, no tsunami warning has been issued.
Neither damage nor injuries have been reported in nearby islands.
