A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of New Caledonia on Monday, triggering a tsunami warning, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
Authorities in Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii said there were no tsunami threats to the coastlines of those countries.
Monday's earthquake followed a series of temblors to hit the Loyalty Islands area over the past few weeks, including a 6.8-magnitude quake that struck at the end of October.
New Caledonia is part of the ‘Ring of Fire’, a zone of tectonic activity around the Pacific that is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The US Geological Survey said the shallow tremor hit approximately 82 kilometres to the east of the lightly populated Loyalty Islands at around 10.45am local time (9.45am AEST).
New Caledonia is a French territory, made up a series of islands.
Its civil security agency said it was still compiling data, and was not planning to evacuate immediately.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued a tsunami warning for coastlines within 300 kms of the epicentre, but later said the danger had largely passed.
Small tsunamis were detected and waves may have reached up to one metre above the high tide level in parts of New Caledonia and smaller in Vanuatu, the PTWC said.
“Minor sea level fluctuations...may continue over the next few hours,” a statement from the agency said.
Nervous residents reported feeling several tremors throughout the night before the quake hit.
"Parked cars were shaking and everyone went outside,” one official from Mare in the Loyalty Islands told AFP.
"I thought I was going to faint, I was very afraid and I rushed out of my building," said a resident of central Noumea.
Geoscience Australia seismologist Spiro Spiliopoulos said damage in the capital was unlikely.
"They will feel moderate shaking, but there is a low likelihood of damage from the earthquake itself in Noumea," he told AFP.
A resident in Port Vila, Vanuatu, told AFP that no tsunami alert had been issued by local authorities.
"We are a little bit scared. We have had an earthquake last night and today it was quite a big one," said Wayan Rigault, communications manager at Hotel Nengone Village on the island of Mare, which is the closest landmass to the epicentre.
Rigault said there was no immediate damage, but guests were on alert for a formal evacuation warning.
Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office advised people in southern provinces to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.
