A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of New Zealand

Bangkok. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the New Zealand archipelago of the Kermadec Islands in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The United States Geological Service, which records seismic activity around the world, indicated that the quake struck at 12:41 a.m. local time and was located at a depth of 33 kilometers.

The closest towns to the epicenter are Hicks Bay, 910 kilometers from the epicenter, and Whangarei, 964 kilometers away.

Following the strong earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Service issued a tsunami watch and warned of the possibility of “dangerous tsunami waves” off the coast of the Kermatek Islands, 300 kilometers from the epicenter.

The Kermadec Islands, located between New Zealand and Tonga, are uninhabited except for personnel at a permanently established base on Raoul Island, which houses a weather and radio station.

New Zealand sits on a fault line between the Pacific and Oceanic tectonic plates and records about 14,000 earthquakes each year, 100 to 150 of which are powerful enough to be felt.