An earthquake M7.6 occurred in New Zealand Thursday, 07 July 2011 02:21
According to the USGS, a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake recorded today at 07.03 local time, its epicenter was 163 kilometers of the island of Raoul in the Kermadec island arc.
Kermadec Islands is a island arc in the South Pacific. The Kermadec islands are located 1,000 kilometers northeast of the North Island of New Zealand and more than 1,100 km south-west of Ata (Tonga). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, located in Hawaii (USA), immediately declared a threat of tsunami for Kermadec Islands, Tonga and New Zealand after an earthquake of magnitude 7.6.
Kermadec Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands are located over a vast underwater plateau in the Pacific Ocean, which stretches from the shores of South America to New Zealand and Antarctica. Along the edges of the plateau are deep-sea trenches, associated with the belt of volcanic mountains. In these places, within the Pacific Ring of Fire, very often there are earthquakes and volcanoes, including underwater.
The area of the Kermadec Islands is about 33 square kilometers, the area of the largest island Raul is almost 97%. Kermadec Islands consists of four islands and several rocks. Until the 30s of the 20th century Kermadec Islands were inhabited by Polynesians and early XX century on the Kermadec Islands inhabited until 8000 people. But today the population of the islands is only staff research station, located on the island of Raoul.
Kermadec Trench is located in south-western Pacific Ocean, at the eastern of the Kermadec Islands. Length Kermadec Trench is 1270 km and maximum depth is 10 047 m. As the Mariana Trench, Kermadec trench was opened by the expedition ship "Challenger", which came from Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and headed north, periodically performing the measurements of the Pacific depths.
Today, many people in New Zealand were awakened by the roar of sirens, after the announcement of a tsunami threat from an earthquake in the area of the Kermadec Islands. Sirens warning about the tsunami threat and had even conducted the initial evacuation. However, after several hours, in most cities of the North Island of New Zealand's anxiety about the threat of tsunami was canceled, and reports about damage were not reported.
In the Cook Islands have also adopted special measures to evacuate local residents and tourists away from the coast of the islands. Today, except for calls through local television and radio, were involved police officers.
According to John Key, New Zealand Police thoroughly investigated the coast and walked all the inhabitants of coastal areas with a warning about the possible danger of a tsunami. However, no large waves at 10 am was not noticed- the wave height does not exceed half a meter and the threat of tsunami was completely abolished.
Representatives of the Department of Disaster Management and representatives of the Civil Defence of New Zealand said, what they expected the tsunami wave height of less than 2.3 meters. Tsunami could hit the north and east of the Fiji Islands, North Island of New Zealand, as well as cover the nearby islands of Tonga. According to the High Commission in Tonga, New Zealand, and there were several small tsunami waves in Vava'u, but no damage was not from them.
At present, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii canceled a tsunami warning for New Zealand, Australia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Kiribati, American Samoa Islands, Solomon Islands, Philippines, Chile, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Antarctica, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico
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