Tsunami confirmed as 7.7-magnitude quake hits South Pacific; New Zealand on alert

Canberra, Feb 10: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck in the South Pacific has generated a tsunami warning for New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and other nations in the region, confirmed Australian weather agency.

"Tsunami confirmed," the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet, as it warned of a threat to Lord Howe Island, which is about 550 kilometres (340 miles) east of Australia's mainland.

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The quake struck at just after midnight on Thursday local time (1320 GMT Wednesday) about 415 kilometres (258 miles) east of Vao in New Caledonia at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the USGS.

There were no initial reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which was initially recorded by USGS at magnitude 7.5 before being revised to 7.7.

Waves reaching between 0.3 and one metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu, the centre said.

"Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours," the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

The New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency released a statement telling people in coastal areas to move away from waterfronts.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island triggering a tsunami that killed more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

A 9.1-magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island in 2004, that left 220,000 people dead throughout the region.