WELLINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the uninhabited Kermadec Islands at 1:56 p.m. local time on Thursday, about 1,000 km northeast of New Zealand's North Island, with a depth of 10 km.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for coasts within 300 km of the quake epicenter in the South Pacific, saying "tsunami waves reaching 0.3 m to 1 m above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Kermadec Islands."
There is no tsunami threat for New Zealand following the strong earthquake, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. ■