The presence of tropical cyclone Wati has promted New Caledonia's authorities to place the territory on a pre-alert.
The pre-alert status is the first level on a scale of three, and is mainly designed to alert the population to a potential risk.
The French High commission has issued an advisory saying Wati was currently following a south-easterly direction, about half-way between Australia's North-East coast and the main island of New Caledonia.
