A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off France's New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean, the United States Geological Service reported. The earthquake occurred at a depth of some 29.4 kilometers below the seabed 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.
Despite such a strong magnitude, which usually inflicts damage and can be felt up to hundreds of miles away from the epicenter, no tsunami warning has been issued.
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
Earlier, USGS had reported that it was a major earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude.
