Earthquake Hits North of NZ, Tsunami Alert Issued
Tsunami Warning
New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands were struck by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, creating conditions for a tsunami to unleash, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center announced on Wednesday.
As a result of the earthquake a tsunami alert was issued on Kermadec Islands, in New Zealand, and in the Kingdom of Tonga.
According to U.S. Pacific Center sea level readings confirm that a tsunami was generated, and that it would be destructive along the coastline in the region near the epicenter of the earthquake.
The tsunami struck at 7:03 p.m. local time at the epicenter, 131 miles east of Raoul Island, and was 30 miles deep.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Center the waves were 2.7 feet high around the Raoul Island.
The same source estimates that the waves will reach East Cape, New Zealand, in two hours, and the city of Auckland in three hours.
Kermadec Islands are situated 500 miles northeast of the northern island of New Zealand.
Earthquake's Map
This area has a lot of seismic activity going on, and earthquakes often create tsunamis like the one in Japan, which created a huge humanitarian crisis, as a result of the fact that it affected the nuclear power plants in the Myiagi Province.
A tsunami alert was launched in New Zealand on March 11, when the Japanese tsunami created the disaster at Fukushima. It was cancelled as soon as the authorities realized that the situation was under control.
