NOUMEA, May 19, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - New Caledonia ordered the evacuation of coastal areas on Friday, a government official said, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean triggered a tsunami warning.

Warning sirens had been activated and people were asked to leave areas near the island's coastline, Colonel Marchi Leccia, a security official, told a local radio station. An AFP journalist reported that at least one beach had been evacuated.