7.1-magnitude quake jolts Loyalty Islands

Sydney, May 20 (IANS) An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale jolted southeast of the Loyalty Islands Saturday -- just a day after a 7.7-magnitude temblor struck the region, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

According to the latest update from the USGS, the epicentre, with a depth of 36 km, was determined to be at 23.062 degrees south latitude and 170.456 degrees east longitude, reports Xinhua news agency.

Following the initial quake at 1.51 a.m., an aftershock with a magnitude of 6.5 hit southeast of the Loyalty Islands at 2.09 a.m., according to the USGS.

The US Tsunami Warning System said tsunami waves are forecast to be less than 0.3 meters above the tide level for the coasts of Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna.

Actual amplitudes at the coast may vary from forecast amplitudes due to uncertainties in the forecast and local features.

In particular, maximum tsunami amplitudes on atolls and at locations with fringing or barrier reefs will likely be much smaller than the forecast indicates, it added.

Following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) had announced that a tsunami warning was in place for Lord Howe Island.

The Loyalty Islands is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of the New Caledonian mainland of Grande Terre.