A Magnitude 8.1 Earthquake struck North of New Zealand at around 8:28 a.m on Friday, local time. It was the third quake with a magnitude over 7 to strike the waters off northeastern New Zealand in about a six-hour span.
New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency has issued a tsunami warning. It is urging people in the northeastern coastal part of the North Island to evacuate to higher ground immediately.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns that waves reaching 0.3-1 meter above the tide level are possible along some coasts of New Caledonia and Vanuatu. All tsunami warnings were canceled at 4pm NZ time.
