NOUMEA, October 11, 2009 (AFP) - A moderate 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck off New Caledonia on Sunday, followed by a 5.6 quake in waters off neighbouring Vanuatu, seismologists said.

The first quake was centred about 380 kilometers (235 miles) east of Noumea, capital of New Caledonia, at 2:12 pm (0312 GMT) at a depth of 35 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

"It is too small and too far away from any population centres to cause any damage or tsunamis," Phil Cummins, seismologist with Geoscience Australia, told AFP.

The quake was followed just over 90 minutes later (0447 GMT) by a 5.6-magnitude earthquake 295 kilometers from Luganville in Vanuatu at a depth of just 10 kilometres.

The Asia-Pacific region has been rocked by a series of violent earthquakes in recent days, including a magnitude 8.0 undersea quake off the islands of Samoa late last month that triggered a deadly tsunami.

New Caledonia evacuated schools and ordered people away from the coast on October 8 after a major 7.8 earthquake prompted a tsunami warning across much of the South Pacific.