New Zealand earthquake on Thursday most Powerful 7.4 magnitude. State media said a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake shook New Zealand's northeast coast on Thursday.
According to Radio New Zealand, officials warned of early leave.
"Civil defense is asking East Coast coastal residents who felt it was 'tall and strong' to go to higher ground as a precaution," the report said.
New Zealand and nearby tourist hotspots Fiji and Vanuatu have been put on alert over tsunami waves from the quake which struck north of New Zealand at 1.50pm BST. In its latest alert to national authorities, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warned waves are expected hit Fiji, Kermadec Islands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Preliminary data from the organization states that a magnitude 7.4 earthquake is south of the Kermadec Islands, about 800–1,000 km northeast of the North Island of New Zealand.According to the US Geological Survey, the epicenter is 685 km northeast of Opotiki, a city in North Island, New Zealand.
Initial forecast says that tsunami waves will be about 0.3 meters above tide level.Soon after the earthquake, the New Zealand Emergency Management Agency issued a statement saying that it was assessing the earthquake risk for the country.The National Emergency Management Agency tweeted: "We are assessing whether the M7.4 SOUTH of the earthquake islands at @@ Event Time @@ has caused a tsunami that could affect New Zealand.
Immediately after the quake struck an alert was issued as part of the UNESCO/IOC Pacific Tsunami warning and mitigation system which said: “Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within 300km of the epicentre."
The warning adds governments should inform and instruct any coastal populations.
The government research agency GNS Science is still evaluating the tsunami threat from the quake, it added.
However, the National Emergency Management Agency said in a recent update: “There is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the M7.4 SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS earthquake.
“Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will pose a threat to New Zealand.”
