NEW CALEDONIA – A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday in the Pacific Ocean to the east of New Caledonia, the United States Geological Survey said, a day after a major quake hit the same area.

The epicentre was 35km deep and located about 300km east of the New Caledonian archipelago, it said.

“It lasted maybe two seconds, not too big,” said Nancy Jack, manager of the beachfront Friendly Beach Bungalows on the Vanuatu island of Kana, adding that no large waves could be seen.

A 6.5-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes after the initial tremor, which struck at 12.51pm local time.

Any tsunami waves are expected to be less than 0.3m high, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said in an update.

The waves may reach the Pacific islands of Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna, it said, after earlier issuing a warning for coasts within 300km of the epicentre.

On Friday, a 7.7-magnitude quake in the same area sent people scrambling for higher ground on several Pacific islands for fear of giant waves. A tsunami warning was lifted hours later. AFP