A very strong magnitude-7 earthquake has struck near the Pacific island nation of New Caledonia north of New Zealand this morning.
The USGS reported the quake took place about 200km east northeast of the capital Noumea off the coast of the island of Tadine.
The quake struck at 11.43am New Zealand time and was registered at a depth of 25km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has said waves between 30cm and one metre above the tide level are possible in New Caledonia - it was high tide there about noon, New Zealand time.
"We are a little bit scared, we have had an earthquake last night and today it was quite a big one," said Wayan Rigault, communications manager at Hotel Nengone Village on the island of Mare, which is the closest landmass to the epicentre.
Mr Rigault said there was no immediate damage, but guests were on alert for a formal evacuation warning.
Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people in southern provinces to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.
Waves of up to 30cm are expected on the coasts of Vanuatu.
New Caledonia's civil security agency said it was still compiling data, and was not planning to evacuate immediately.
However, New Zealand's Civil Defence says that, based on current information, there is no threat to New Zealand.
An aftershock of magnitude 5.1 also took place about 11.58am, NZT.
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