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Moderate earthquake near New Caledonia
STRASBOURG, France (AFP) Apr 27, 2003
An earthquake measuring six points on the open-ended Richter scale struck near Loyaute Islands to the east of the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia at 1603 GMT, France's Strasbourg Observatory of Earth Sciences said Sunday.

The epicenter of the quake was at 23.5 degrees latitude south and 164.9 degrees longitude east, the Observatory estimated, adding the US National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) would provide a precise location for the center of the tremor.

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