7.3 magnitude strong earthquake strikes New Zealand

A strong earthquake jolted New Zealand on Thursday. The quake measured 7.3 on the Richter Scale and struck east of New Zealand's north Island. NEMA and GNS Science are assessing the earthquake parameters to determine if there is a tsunami risk to New Zealand.

"We are assessing whether the M7.3 EAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND earthquake at 2021-03-05 2:27 AM has created a tsunami that could affect New Zealand. We will provide an update as soon as the initial assessment has been completed," National Emergency Management Agency said in a tweet.

"Anyone near the coast who felt a LONG or STRONG quake should MOVE IMMEDIATELY to the nearest high ground, or as far inland as you can," it further said.

On February 10, a powerful undersea earthquake had struck north of New Zealand. The US Geological Agency said the magnitude 7.7 quake was centred at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) southeast of the Loyalty Islands. No major damage was reported, however, the US Tsunami Warning Center had issued warnings of possible tsunami waves ranging from 0.3 to 1 meters (1 to 3.3 feet) for Vanuatu and Fiji.