text: Tsunami alert: 7.0 earthquake strikes off Australia | Daily Mail Online
  Tsunami alert was issued after massive earthquake struck off east coast Australia
  The 7.0 magnitude quake hit near Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia on Monday
  Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said 'hazardous tsunami waves' were possible
  People in Vanuatu's southern provinces were advised to evacuate coastal areas
  Initial earthquake was followed by another measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale
  Published: 18:19 EDT, 19 November 2017 | Updated: 08:13 EDT, 20 November 2017
  A tsunami alert had been issued after a massive earthquake struck off the east coast of Australia but there were no immediate reports of damage.
  The 7.0 magnitude quake hit near New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands on Monday at 9.43am, local time.
  The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said 'hazardous tsunami waves' were possible within 300km of the epicenter.
  The agency later reported that 'tsunami waves had been observed' and issued the alert for New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
  The 7.0 magnitude quake hit near the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia on Monday morning
  Waves as high as one meter above the high-tide mark were forecast to hit New Caledonia, with smaller waves expected in Vanuatu, but never did.
  The PTWC later said the danger had largely passed.
  The quake was centred 68km north-east of Tadine at a depth of 10km and was followed by another measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale just minutes later.
  'Government agencies responsible for threatened coastal areas should take action to inform and instruct any coastal populations populations at risk,' the PTWC had said.
  Waves as high as one meter above the high-tide mark were forecast to hit New Caledonia. Pictured is the capital of the French territory, Noumea
  'Persons in threatened coastal areas should stay alert for information and follow instructions from national and local authorities.'
  Wayan Rigault, communications manager at Hotel Nengone Village on the island of Mare, which is the closest landmass to the epicenter, said he waited for instructions.
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  'We are a little bit scared, we have had an earthquake last night and today it was quite a big one,' he said.
  Rigault said there was no immediate damage, but guests were on alert for a formal evacuation warning.
  The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said 'tsunami waves had been observed'. Pictured is The Isle of Pines in New Caledonia
  Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office had advised people in southern provinces to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.
  New Caledonia's civil security agency said it was not planning to evacuate immediately.
  There was no tsunami threat to the coastlines of Australia, New Zealand or Hawaii, according to authorities.
  The quake came just a day after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck about 70km east of the Loyalty Islands.
  The quake was centred 68km north-east of Tadine at a depth of 10km and was followed by another measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale just minutes later (stock image)