WORLD OF CRISIS

Feb 19, 2009

Strong quake hits remote islands off New Zealand

A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 struck off the remote Kermadec islands north of New Zealand on Thursday, the country's geological institute GNS Science reported.

The epicentre of the undersea wake, recorded at 10:53 am (2153 GMT Wednesday), was 260 kilometres northeast of Raoul Island and 60 kilometres deep.

The New Zealand ministry of civil defence said there was no threat of a tsunami.

Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the area, which is part of the "Ring of Fire" where the Pacific plate of the earth's crust meets other continental plates.

The Kermadec islands, 1,000 kilometres north of New Zealand, are uninhabited apart from Raoul, where New Zealand's Department of Conservation maintains a field station.

Two years ago, a conservation worker on Raoul Island was killed by a mudflow sparked by a volcano that erupted during an earthquake swarm.

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