Tsunami warning

Magnitude 7.7 earthquake near Loyalty Islands triggers tsunami threat for Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia

The warnings were issued just after 3pm by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre

The National Emergency Management Agency is currently assessing whether a large earthquake in the Pacific is a tsunami threat to New Zealand.

The earthquake was nearly 38 kilometres deep.

RNZ Pacific senior reporter Walter Zweifel said the warning broadcast for New Caledonia on RRB, a commercial radio station, applied to all islands, with people being asked to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.

Minister clarifies Fiji’s tsunami system

He said that is the reason the tsunami warning was late on 15 January following the volcanic eruption in Tonga.

Usamate reassured that the Seismology Unit in the country monitors the likelihood of tsunamis every 24 hours.

He added that this month alone 70 earthquake activity was picked up by the unit, with 13 of those occurring locally.

“So because the whole system was oriented towards earthquakes when they had this volcanic activity that might lead to tsunami, they did not have the parameters to measure that this volcano leads to tsunami.”

Another major quake triggers fresh tsunami warning

A magnitude 8 earthquake struck around 8.28am NZ time at a depth of 10 km, triggering an alert for much of the south Pacific region.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said hazardous tsunami waves were possible within the next three hours along the coastlines.

Waves reaching one to three metres above the tide level are possible along some coasts of French Polynesia.

Tsunami warning for PNG after 6.9 quake

The 6.9 magnitude quake (which was initally measured by the US Geological Survey as magnitude 7-point-3) struck near the village of Wau, just after one o'clock this afternoon, local time, at a depth of 85 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says hazardous waves are possible within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, along the coast of PNG.

The epicentre is about two-hundred kilometres north of PNG's capital Port Moresby.

     

Tsunami warning issued for Southern islands of Vanuatu

Waves of 0.30 meters to 0.5 meters are likely to hit the coastlines of Tafea, Shefa and Malampa and possibly Sanama provinces.

The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) is requesting residents in these provinces to take appropriate action and precautionary measures upon receiving the advisory.

 This includes immediate evacuation from coastal areas to higher grounds.

Pacific tsunami warnings issued after powerful earthquake strikes near New Caledonia

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, saying wave heights would vary depending on coastlines and that the initial wave may not be the largest.

It said small tsunamis had been detected and forecast waves up to one metre above the high tide level to hit parts of New Caledonia and smaller waves for Vanuatu.

"We are a little bit scared," said Wayan Rigault, communications manager at Hotel Nengone Village on the island of Mare, which is the closest landmass to the epicentre.

Tsunami warning raised as magnitude-7.0 earthquake strikes Vanuatu

ABC reports the sparsely populated village of Norsup was 5 kilometres from the epicentre, which struck on land at a depth of 35 kilometres.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has advised people located near coastal areas, within 300 kilometres of the epicentre, to stay alert for information and follow instructions from national and local authorities.