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Thousands of New Zealanders have been told they can return home after a powerful earthquake triggered tsunami warnings.
Islanders on the east coast fled to higher ground after the series of earthquakes on the North Island.
The earthquakes triggered small tsunami waves, with images posted on social media showing waves of water entering a marina in Northland and the East Cape region of the North Island.
The biggest waves have already passed and the threat level has dropped, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said.
“All the people who were evacuated can now return,” he added.
Workers, students and residents were told to leave their homes in areas like Northland and the Bay of Plenty, amid warnings. tsunami waves can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) above the tide level.
The final earthquake had a magnitude of 8.1 and struck the Kermadec Islands, northeast of New ZealandNorth Island.
It came shortly after a magnitude of 7.4 earthquake in the same region. A large 7.2 magnitude earthquake had occurred earlier, some 540 miles east of the North Island.
There were no reports of damage or casualties from the earthquakes.
There were traffic jams as people rushed to higher ground.
Some New Zealanders moved to higher ground after tsunami warnings were issued. Photo: AP
NEMA previously warned that threatened areas were from the Bay of Islands to Whangarei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay, including Whakatane and Opotiki, and the Great Barrier Island.
“We want everyone to take this threat seriously. Go to high ground,” Whangarei Mayor Sheryl Mai told state broadcaster TVNZ.
Warnings were also issued for other Pacific islands such as Tonga, American Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Hawaii, and others.
Australia issued a marine tsunami threat to Norfolk Island, but said there was no threat to the mainland, while Chile said it could experience a minor tsunami.
“Persons close to shore in the following areas should immediately move to the nearest high ground, outside of all tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as possible. DO NOT STAY HOME,” NEMA said in a statement. posted online.
“The earthquake may not have been felt in some of these areas, but evacuation should be immediate, as a damaging tsunami is possible.”
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