New Zealand downgraded a tsunami warning Friday, enabling thousands who evacuated coastal places in the north of its North Island to return residence.
“GNS Science has advised that the largest waves have now passed, and therefore the threat level is now downgraded to a Beach and Marine threat for all areas which were previously under Land and Marine threat,” the National Emergency Management Agency mentioned in a statement. “All people who evacuated can now return.”
The nation had been on Tsunami alert all morning just after a effective magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck close to the Kermadec Islands. It was the third significant quake recorded north of New Zealand in a matter of hours. The nation sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanic and seismic activity that rings the Pacific Ocean.
People close to the coast in northern places of the North Island have been ordered to move quickly to the nearest higher ground or as far inland as attainable, as powerful currents and unpredictable surges close to the shore have been anticipated for various hours.
A magnitude 7.1 quake off New Zealand’s east coast was extensively felt about the North Island overnight. It was followed by a magnitude 7.4 close to the Kermadecs that triggered a tsunami warning. That was later canceled, but the third, bigger quake prompted a new warning.
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