Major quake in the shaky isles, but tsunami fears dismissed
A destructive tsunami threat has been assessed and dismissed by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in waters north of New Zealand.
The United States Geological Survey reported the major earthquake near Raoul Island in New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands group at 12:41pm local time on Monday.
The largely uninhabited islands are located roughly 1000km northeast of Auckland, halfway between New Zealand and Fiji, and between two tectonic plates.
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The earthquake was shallow, at just 49km deep, and was followed by a pair of aftershocks measured at 5.4 and 5.3 magnitude.
A small tsunami of 20cm was recorded on Raoul Island, according to GNS Science.
“Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre advised no tsunami threat was forecast for New Zealand or surrounding areas,” GNS Science seismic duty officer Katie Jacobs said.
“The National Emergency Management Authority announced the threat had passed at 1:58pm.”
