Strong quake hits remote Macquarie Island region, no tsunami threat
by AFP Staff Writers
Wellington (AFP) March 3, 2024

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck the remote Macquarie Island region in the south Pacific Monday, but there was no threat of a tsunami, US meteorologists said.

The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 1616 GMT, was underwater off the southern coast of Macquarie Island, roughly 1500 kilometres (932 miles) south-southwest of New Zealand's south island, at a depth of 10 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

Macquarie Island, which belongs to Australia, is about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has no permanent inhabitants, but there is an Australian Antarctic Division station there.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said in a statement that there was "no tsunami threat" from the initial quake.

Macquarie Island lies near the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the earth's tectonic plates collide, and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

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