Powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits East of New Zealand; Tsunami alert liftedWellington, Mar 06: Earthquakes continued to rock New Zealand's North Island on Saturday with the US Geological Survey recording a magnitude 6.4 shock the day after a Pacific-wide tsunami alert sparked by a monster quake.
There have been no reports of serious damage or injury from the quakes, nor from a host of smaller tremors, which were centred offshore from the eastern city of Gisborne.
Powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits East of New Zealand; Tsunami alert lifted
A swarm of quakes up to 8.1 on Friday near the remote Kermadec Islands, 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) northeast of New Zealand, triggered tsunami warnings for several South Pacific islands although the waves did not reach the predicted three metres (11 feet).
Within the past several days, a number of powerful earthquakes have been recorded off New Zealand, including a tremor with an 8.1 magnitude on late Thursday. The authorities told residents of the coastal areas of the North Island to evacuate over a tsunami threat but no major waves hit the island.
A magnitude 6.3 quake hit the city of Christchurch in 2011, killing 185 people and destroying much of its downtown.