“Tsunami waves” warning for New Zealand after 7.7 earthquake in Pacific


Team Udayavani, Feb 11, 2021, 9:53 AM IST

Credit: iStock Photo

 

Sydney: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck in the South Pacific on Thursday, generating a small tsunami that caused no damage to island nations in the region before authorities gave the all clear.

The quake struck at just after midnight on Thursday local time (1320 GMT Wednesday) about 415 kilometres (258 miles) east of Vao in New Caledonia at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey.

The US government’s NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said “hazardous tsunami waves” were forecast for some coasts.

It said waves reaching between 0.3 and one metre above the tide level were possible for Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu.

A wave of 0.3 metres struck Fiji, according to the Twitter feed of the island nation’s seismology department.

However, Fiji Seismology later cancelled its tsunami warning.

“The seismology observatory upon its assessments has now verified and confirmed the cancellation of the warning and ‘all clear information’ (is) issued to the whole Fiji group,” it said.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology confirmed in a tweet that a tsunami had been generated.

The bureau warned of a threat to Lord Howe Island, which is about 550 kilometres (340 miles) east of Australia’s mainland, but said there was no need for evacuations.

Locals in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila said they felt the quake but there was no damage from either the shake or subsequent waves.

The New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency warned of “strong and unusual currents” in northern coastal areas but said there was no tsunami risk.

“There isn’t a threat to land so we haven’t issued a tsunami alert,” the disaster agency’s acting director Roger Ball told Radio New Zealand.

He advised those in affected areas to “stay out of the water and stay off the beaches” but said the danger posed was not enough to warrant a nationwide warning.

“Waking everybody up at 4:00 or 5:00 am in the morning with emergency mobile alerts we didn’t feel was a proportionate response,” he said.

There were no initial reports of casualties or damage from the tsunami or the quake, which was initially recorded by USGS at magnitude 7.5 before being revised to 7.7.

The Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

A 9.1-magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island in 2004, triggering a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region.

The death toll included around 170,000 in Indonesia — one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.

Top News

Awards don’t create value for independent films in India: Manoj Bajpayee

Public Alert: Cyber fraudsters impersonating traffic police to demand fines

UP: 25 people booked for attacking civic officials for encroachment removal

SC transfers cheating case against choreographer Remo D’Souza to Delhi court

Fishing vessel collides with naval platform off Goa coast; 2 fishermen missing

‘Nation First’ key to India’s progress, says President Murmu

Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra slams Cong govt over Waqf notices to farmers, fund crunch

Related Articles More

Baku climate talks: The ‘X’ factor that could determine future of Global South

India-US ties have strong foundation: White House confident in navigating crisis over Adani bribery charges

PM Modi leaves for home after concluding three-nation visit

China announces new policy measures to protect its exports from Trump’s new tariff threat

Pak government prepares for proposed protest by former PM Imran Khan’s party on Nov 24

MUST WATCH

Christmas Cake Fruit Mixing

DK Shivakumar

Rose Cultivation

Geethotsava

Naxal Operation


Latest Additions

Air India to offer integrated aircraft maintenance engineering programme

Awards don’t create value for independent films in India: Manoj Bajpayee

Karnataka bypolls: Outcome crucial for both ruling and oppn camps

Belagavi: Was youth killed for an iPhone? Police launch intensive probe

K’taka Health Minister calls for collaborative efforts to combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Thanks for visiting Udayavani

You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.