Hong Kong
CNN
—
The United States Tsunami Warning Center lifted the alert for the South Pacific on Friday, about three hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the region.
“Based on all available data, the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the center said in a report.
Earlier, people living in the region were advised to avoid coastal areas after the US Geological Survey (USGS) said a 7.7 magnitude earthquake with a depth of 38 kilometers (23 miles) struck the region.
The earthquake’s epicenter was near the Loyalty Islands in the French territory of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and Vanuatu, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center.
It initially issued a tsunami alert for coastlines within 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of the epicenter, and nearby countries including Vanuatu and Kiribati but later withdrew it.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency also tweeted no tsunami threat is expected western US state.
However, a tsunami warning issued by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology for the small population of Lord Howe Island, on the east coast of the country, remains in force – even though the bureaus say no’ y threat seen for mainland Australia.
The National Emergency Management Agency of New Zealand said in a tweet whose tsunami advisory also remains in effect, warning that strong currents and surges have the potential to injure or drown people in the water.
The earthquake was first reported as 7.7 magnitude. It was briefly revised up to 7.8 before being downgraded again in the latest update from the US National Tsunami Warning Center.
The South Pacific is one of the most seismically active areas in the world due to the high rate of convergence between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates that are constantly pushing against each other, according to the USGS.
