LIFOU: A massive earthquake struck the southeastern part of the Loyalty Island of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean on Friday and triggered tsunami warnings in multiple countries.
According to the United States Geological Survey, a tremor measuring 7.7 intensity on the Richter scale hit the region at 2:57 AM on Friday and created the possibility of hazardous tsunami waves.
Geological reports pointed out that the epicentre of the tremor was located at a depth of 37.7 km. It was also zeroed down to 23.229 degrees south latitude and 170.694 degrees east longitude.
The earthquake triggered the US Tsunami Warning System which reported that hazardous tsunami waves caused by this earthquake are possible within a 1000 km range of the epicentre along the coasts of Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.
The Bureau of Meteorology of Australia also issued a tsunami warning for Lord Howe Island. This is a popular holiday destination on the eastern side d of Australia and has about 300 residents.
No reports of losses to life or property were received yet but the people have been maintaining safety measures in view of the aftershocks.
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale struck Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture and its surrounding areas on May 5, but there is no threat of a tsunami, the country’s weather agency said. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor occurred at 2.42 p.m. (local time), at a depth of 10 km, registering an upper 6 on the national seismic intensity scale of 7 in the city of Suzu, upper 5 in Noto and lower 5 in Wajima. No abnormalities have been detected at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa, as well as at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in the neighbouring prefecture of Niigata, Kyodo News reported.
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