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usgs
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
Civil Defence is assessing whether there is a tsunami threat for New Zealand after a large earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
In a tweet at 3.40pm on Friday, Civil Defence said if a tsunami was generated it wasn’t likely to arrive in New Zealand for at least an hour.
The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) and scientific advisors are still assessing the situation. It said it would issue an update as soon as possible.
The earthquake was a magnitude 7.7.
The Loyalty Islands are near to New Caledonia, approximately 150km off its East Coast.
The US National Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for coasts within 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the epicentre which lay between Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Nema said only messages issued by it represented the official warning status for New Zealand.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a depth of 38 km.
MORE TO COME
HELLOWORLD
The Loyalty Islands, pictured, are about 150km away from New Caledonia. (File photo)
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