A robust undersea earthquake struck north of New Zealand on Wednesday night, prompting tsunami warnings in elements of the area.
The US Geological Agency stated the magnitude 7.7 quake was centred at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) southeast of the Loyalty Islands. The shaking was not anticipated to trigger important injury or fatalities on land.
The US Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings of attainable tsunami waves starting from 0.3 to 1 meters (1 to three.3 toes) for Vanuatu and Fiji. A tsunami watch was issued after which cancelled for American Samoa.
The area is susceptible to earthquakes as a result of it sits alongside the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped collection of seismic fault traces across the ocean.