A 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the French territory of New Caledonia, south-east of the Loyalty Islands on Friday, creating small tsunami waves in Vanuatu.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said it measured waves less than half a metre high off Lenakel, a port town in the island country. Smaller waves were measured elsewhere off Vanuatu and off New Caledonia.
It also said tsunami waves ranging from 0.3m to a metre above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said it was still assessing the potential for a tsunami.
The PTWC also said small waves were possible for Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Guam and other Pacific islands.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was near the Loyalty Islands, south-west of Fiji, north of New Zealand and east of Australia where the Coral Sea meets the Pacific. It was 37 kilometres deep.
Vanuatu advised residents to seek higher ground, according to an official at the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department, who said the office had received calls from people on the southern islands who had felt shaking.
Australia's meteorology bureau issued a tsunami threat for Lord Howe Island, off its east coast and warned the estimated 450 inhabitants to leave the water's edge due to waves and strong currents.
"We haven't moved to higher ground and we're probably not going to," said Damien Ball of the Thompsons General Store on Lord Howe Islands. "We've been through this numerous times before and nothing ever comes of it."
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Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
