Magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes New Zealand archipelago

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The Kermadec Islands were the area hardest hit by the quake, although there were no reports of damage or a tsunami warning.

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the Kermadec Islands, an archipelago in northern New Zealand, on Saturday, without authorities initially reporting material damage or issuing a tsunami warning.

The quake occurred at 3:46 pm local time (02:46 GMT) and had its epicenter 10 km below the sea floor in the Pacific Ocean, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors seismic activity worldwide. . The quake occurred 926 km southwest of Ohonwa town of Tonga and 1,084 km northwest of Whangarei, a town in the far north of New Zealand.

The Kermadec Islands, located between New Zealand and Tonga, are uninhabited, except for personnel of the permanently installed base on Raul Island, which has a meteorological and radio station.

In March last year, New Zealand authorities issued a tsunami warning twice after several strong earthquakes, including a 7.3-magnitude quake off the northeast coast and an 8.1-magnitude quake near Kermadec. Located on the fault line between the Pacific and Pacific tectonic plates, New Zealand experiences about 14,000 earthquakes each year, of which 100 to 150 are strong enough to be felt.

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