The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center canceled a tsunami surveillance for Hawaii on Thursday, issued after a major earthquake occurred in a remote area between New Zealand and Tonga.
The agency previously canceled a tsunami alert it had issued for American Samoa.
The 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Kermadec Islands. He forced thousands of people to evacuate in New Zealand, but it did not appear to pose a widespread threat to lives or major infrastructure.
A fire truck tells people along the road, using a public sound system (PA), to move to higher ground after a tsunami alert for American Samoa in Pago Pago, Thursday, March 4 2021. (AP Photo / Fili Sagapolutele)
In American Samoa, authorities rang the village church bells and the police in marked vehicles and fire trucks used loudspeakers to spread the word of the threat because the territory’s regular external alert system has been out of service since last year .
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Repairs are suspended because flights to American Samoa were suspended in the midst of the pandemic and technicians were unable to make the trip.
Residents were taking no chances after a tsunami in 2009 killed 34 people in American Samoa and caused great damage.
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The earthquake in the Kermadec Islands was the largest in a series of tremors that hit the region over several hours, including two previous earthquakes that recorded magnitude 7.4 and magnitude 7.3.