A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Thursday in waters of the South Pacific off the French territory of New Caledonia, geological monitoring services said, according to AP. No injuries or damage were immediately reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread tsunami based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. The U.S. Geological Service and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the quake hit at 0727 GMT on Thursday, some 30-35 miles (50-60 kilometers) deep in the ocean. The epicenter was about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off Ile Hunter in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands chain, and more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Auckland, New Zealand. «The magnitude is high but ... it is too deep to create a tsunami,» said seismology analyst Christiane Nicole of the French Central Seismology Bureau. Nicole noted that the area is sparsely populated and that the zone sees frequent seismic activity including strong earthquakes.
