WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – A powerful undersea earthquake struck northern New Zealand, generating tsunami alerts for several island nations.
The US Geological Survey says the 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred on Wednesday night and was centered at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
The quake was not expected to cause significant damage or fatalities on land.
The US Tsunami Alert Center has issued warnings of possible 0.3 to 1 meter (1 to 3.3 feet) tsunami waves for Vanuatu and Fiji.
A tsunami alert was issued and then canceled for American Samoa.
The region is prone to earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic faults around the ocean.