One of the strongest South Pacific earthquakes in modern history triggered tsunami warnings across the ocean and forced thousands of people in New Zealand to evacuate coastal areas Friday. Small tsunami waves were seen, but little damage was visible hours later.
The magnitude 8.1 earthquake in the Kermadec Islands region, about 620 miles from New Zealand, was the largest in a series of tremors over several hours, including two previous quakes that recorded magnitude 7.4 and magnitude 7.3.
The tsunami threat caused traffic congestion and some chaos in New Zealand as people rushed to get higher.
Residents recorded videos of small waves in some places, including in Tokomaru Bay near Gisborne. In the afternoon, the National Emergency Management Agency said the threat was over and people could return to their homes, although they should continue to avoid beaches.
George Novak / AP
One of the earlier earthquakes struck much closer to New Zealand and woke many people to feel a long, rumbling tremble. “I hope everyone out there is okay,” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wrote on Facebook that evening.
After the largest earthquake, New Zealand civil protection authorities told people in some coastal areas to immediately reach higher elevations. They said a damaging tsunami was possible and waves could reach up to 3 meters high.
Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan told reporters that people were taking the advice.
“They felt the long or strong earthquakes and knew to pack their bags and head into the highlands,” she said. “I can only thank and acknowledge the tireless efforts of the men and women along the coast who knew how to act, when to act and what to do.”
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that the earthquake could cause tsunami waves of up to 3 meters in Vanuatu and up to 1 meter in Fiji, French Polynesia and as far away as Mexico and Peru.
1-foot waves were measured with ocean meters in Vanuatu, New Zealand and islands off the coast of Australia.
The US Geological Survey said the strongest earthquake occurred near the remote Kermadec Islands at a depth of 12 miles.
The agency said in a report that the earthquake occurred at the junction of the Pacific and Australia tectonic plates and eclipsed the largest earthquake previously recorded in the region, a magnitude 8.0 in 1976. It said the interaction Between the plates is one of the most seismically induced active regions in the world, and it has recorded 215 earthquakes above magnitude 6.0 over the past century.
Jennifer Eccles, an earthquake expert at the University of Auckland, said the earthquake was at the higher end of the scale for those only affecting Earth’s ocean crust.
“This is about as big as it gets,” she said.
She said most earthquakes greater than magnitude 8.0 tend to occur when a section of a more robust continental crust is involved.
The US Geological Survey said the 7.4 magnitude earthquake was likely a “prequake” that contributed to the larger quake, but the first earthquake to strike closer to New Zealand was too far in time and distance to hit. directly contribute.
The first earthquake occurred at a depth of 21 miles under the ocean, about 108 miles northeast of the city of Gisborne. It was widely felt in New Zealand and residents of the major cities of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch reported being shaken up.
In 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Christchurch, killing 185 people and devastating much of the inner city.