Magnitude 7.1 quake strikes Kermadec Islands in New Zealand, tsunami alert issued

NEW DELHI,MAR 16 : A powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck the Kermadec Islands to the north of New Zealand on Thursday.

According to the US Geological Survey, the shallow quake was estimated to have been at a depth of 10 km. A tsunami warning was issued shortly after by the US Tsunami Warning System for nearby, uninhabited islands in a 300-km radius.

The National Emergency Management Agency said there was no tsunami threat for New Zealand following the earthquake.

New Zealand is prone to earthquakes as it is located on the boundary of two of the world’s major tectonic plates – the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate. It is also on the edge of a zone of intense seismic activity known as the Ring of Fire. Every year, thousands of earthquakes shake New Zealand.

-The India Today