MANILA - There is no tsunami threat to the Philippines, the Phivolcs said, after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck east of New Zealand's north island in the early hours of Friday.

• Tsunami warning issued after quake strikes off New Zealand - PTWC

According to the Phivolcs, tsunami waves are only possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter.

#TsunamiPH
NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO THE PHILIPPINES

Tsunami Information No.1
Date and Time:05 Mar 2021 - 01:41 AM
Magnitude =7.5
Depth =010 kilometers
Location = 29.8°S,177.2°W - Kermadec Islands New Zealandhttps://t.co/fHGZMyzEp4 pic.twitter.com/niuP5219Dd

— PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) March 4, 2021

Kermadec Islands, where the quake occurred, is at least 7,000 km from the Philippines.

The US Geological Survey earlier pegged the quake at 7.3, then revised it to 6.9, saying that the quake occurred at a depth of 10 km.

Meanwhile, a tsunami warning was issued on Friday for New Zealand's remote Kermadec after a 7.4-magnitude quake struck in the Pacific Ocean, posing no threat to mainland New Zealand.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an alert for the Kermadec islands, which are uninhabited except for a science and conservation station on Raoul island.

"Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Kermadec islands," the warning center said.

It also said smaller waves might be seen in American Samoa, the Cook islands, Fiji and New Zealand.

The US Geological Survey said the 7.4-magnitude quake was at a depth of 55 kilometres, and a separate 5.5-magnitude quake was at 10 kilometres. It predicted no human or economic damage.

New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency said it expected some coasts "to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore" but added no evacuations were required. -- With a report from Agence France-Presse

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