Sydney: An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 jolted southeast of the Loyalty Islands at 02:57 GMT on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

According to the latest update from the USGS, the epicenter, with a depth of 37.7 km, was determined to be at 23.229 degrees south latitude and 170.694 degrees east longitude.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System reported that hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 1,000 km of the epicenter along the coasts of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji.

(With UNI inputs)