Home News Australia, New Zealand cancel tsunami warnings as threat from Pacific quake eases

Australia, New Zealand cancel tsunami warnings as threat from Pacific quake eases

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A 7.7 magnitude undersea earthquake struck the South Pacific region on Thursday, triggering a brief tsunami warning for Australia and New Zealand that was cancelled, with no immediate reports of damage.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the quake’s epicentre was 417 kilometres east ofTadine, New Caledonia, and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

Tsunami centres across the region sent alerts for the publicto stay off beaches and shore areas due to risks of unexpectedcurrents and unusual waves. Those warnings were later cancelled,and authorities said any tsunami threat to mainlands inAustralia and New Zealand had passed.

“Based on the most recent modelling and decreasing tsunamiamplitudes at North Cape, Great Barrier Island and the EastCape, the tsunami threat has passed for New Zealand,” theNational Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.

“There could still be large unexpected currents and thepublic are advised to continue to take precautions in coastalzones for the rest of today,” it added.

Australia cancelled a marine tsunami warning it had issuedfor residents of Lord Howe Island, a marine reserve more than700 kilometres northeast of Sydney. There was no threat to themainland, it said.

The quake followed at least three other tremors in theregion with magnitudes ranging from 5.7 to 6.1 in a span of justover an hour.

There were no immediate reports of damage near the epicentrein New Caledonia, John Ristau, a seismologist from NewZealand-based GNS Science, told NewsHub’s The AM Show.

“It’s most likely that damage would have been minimal ifanything at all,” he said, adding that Thursday morning’searthquake could trigger more tremors.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said a tsunami watch was ineffect for American Samoa and cited a potential for tsunamis inother regions including Vanuatu, Fiji and New Zealand.

Waves reaching up to a level of 1 metre (3.3 feet) above thenormal tide level were possible for some coastal areas, itadded.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Additional reporting by BhargavAcharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and RosalbaO’Brien)

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