Australia Cancels Tsunami Warning After Earthquake Of Mag 7.7 Hits South Pacific Region

The tsunami warning, which was issued after a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake struck in the South Pacific on Thursday, has been cancelled.

New Delhi: After a earthquake of 7.7 magnitude hit th South Pacific on Thursday which sparked a tsunami warning by the US Geological Survey, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that it has generated a tsunami. But a few hours later, the meteorological department has called off the warning which was main targetted towards New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and other locations in the region.

"Tsunami confirmed," the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet, it warned of a threat to Lord Howe Island, which is about 550 kilometres (340 miles) east of Australia's mainland after USGS said that an earthquake struck just after midnight on Thursday local time (1320 GMT Wednesday) about 415 kilometres (258 miles) east of Vao in New Caledonia at a depth of 10 kilometres. According to the AFP report, the NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said "Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours." 

A statement was released by the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency telling people in coastal areas to move away from waterfronts.The northern parts of New Zealand were the only areas in danger of any tsunami. The agency said "We expect New Zealand coastal areas to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake."

However, the agency later tweeted "The National Advisory issued following the 7.7 earthquake near Southeast of Loyalty Island at 2021-02-11 2:20 AM New Zealand Daylight Time is cancelled."
No reports of casualities or damage were reported from the earthquake recorded by USGS according to the AFP report.