The US Tsunami Warning Centre has issued advisories for parts of the Pacific following a massive earthquake off Mindanao in the Philippines.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck at a depth of 63km truck off the coast of Sarangani province on Monday morning, rocking many parts of Mindanao and triggering a tsunami warning.

• READ MORE: Live updates at Rappler: Magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake
• Other Philippines disaster reports

The tremor caused damage to infrastructure, and prompted evacuations and school class suspensions.

The US warning centre has tsunami waves forecast to be less than 0.3 meters above the tide level for the coasts of:

• American Samoa
• Chuuk FSM
• Fiji
• French Polynesia
• Guam
• Hawai’i
• Kiribati
• Kosrae (FSM)
• Marshall islands
• Nauru
• New Caledonia
• CNMI
• Palau
• Papua New Guinea
• Pohnpei (FSM)
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu
• Wallis Futuna
• Yap

The US Tsunami Warning Centre says government agencies responsible for threatened coastal areas should take action to inform and instruct any coastal populations at risk in accordance with their own evaluation, procedures and the level of threat.

Stay out of water
A tsunami advisory remains in effect for the Marianas — the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam. Authorities are warning of hazardous ocean conditions and strong currents along coastlines.

The first tsunami-related sea level fluctuations could reach Guam from 12:45 pm local time, before spreading northward across the Northern Marianas, with estimated arrival times of 12:54pm in Rota, 1:02opm in Tinian and 1:04pm in Saipan.

Officials cautioned that actual arrival times may vary and that the first wave may not be the largest.

Forecast impacts include sea level changes of up to one foot above and below normal tide levels, minor flooding in some beach and harbour areas, and strong and unusual currents in harbours, bays and nearshore waters.

Hazardous conditions could persist for several hours or longer, the advisory said.

Authorities have urged residents and visitors to stay out of the water and away from beaches, harbours and shorelines until the advisory is lifted.

Continue monitoring
Emergency officials stressed that a full-scale evacuation had not been ordered and advised the public to continue monitoring official updates and instructions.

The advisory covers Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, including Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

Officials said they would continue monitoring the situation and issue additional bulletins as more information becomes available.

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Pacific countries have emerged relatively unscathed from a restless night punctuated by tsunami warning sirens.

The tsunami waves, caused by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia, have now rolled on southeastward toward South America.

According to the US Geological Survey, there have been around 80 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or higher around the area, and there is a 59 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or higher shock within the next week.

• READ MORE: Tsunami alerts lifted in several nations after waves hit Russia, US, Japan

“It is most likely that 0 to 5 of these will occur,” it stated.

The Guardian reported that a 6.4-magnitude quake struck around 320 km southwest of the epicenter yesterday about 11am local time (ET).

As such, while there are no longer any formal warnings or advisory notices in the Pacific, the threat of tsunami waves remains.

Metservice said that waves as high as 3 metres were still possible along some coasts of the northwestern Hawai’ian islands.

Waves between 1 and 3 metres tall were possible along the rest of Hawai’i, as well as as French Polynesia, Kiribati, Samoa and the Solomon Islands.

Assessing the damage
In Fiji, an advisory was put in place until 10:15pm local time, though the National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDMO) reminded citizens to remain alert and continue to follow official updates.

The office said people should take this as an opportunity to update their family emergency plans and evacuation routes.

The NDMO also called on citizens to refrain from spreading false or unverified information in the wake of the cancellation.

Advisory notices were cancelled in the early hours of the morning across Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, French Polynesia and the American Territories. Samoa was the last to rescind theirs, at around 4am local time.

No damage or major incidents have been reported.

In the Cook Islands, the Meteorological Service warned residents to anchor their boats and tie down their washing lines.

“A big boss high-pressure system chilling way down southwest is flexing hard — sending savage southerly swells and grumpy southeast winds across the group like it owns the reef,” it said.

“A sassy low-pressure trough is making a dramatic entrance tomorrow, rolling in with clouds, showers, and random thunderclaps like it’s auditioning for a Cook Islands soap opera.”

Evacuation order
In Hawai’i, an evacuation was ordered after 12pm local time along the coast of Oahu, including in parts of Honolulu, before waves began to arrive after 7pm.

As local media reported, intense traffic jams formed across Oahu as authorities evacuated people in coastal communities, and a sense of panic stirred.

Lauren Vinnel, an emergency management specialist at Massey University, told RNZ Pacific that the ideal scenario would have been for people to leave on foot.

“We know that this is where public education and practising tsunami evacuation is really important,” she said.

“We know that if people have identified their evacuation route and have practised it, it’s much easier for them to calmly and safely evacuate when a real event does occur.”

The advisory notice was lifted across Hawai’i at 8:58am local time.

Tonga’s tsunami trauma
Meanwhile, tsunami sirens sounded on and off overnight in Tonga until authorities cancelled the warning for the kingdom at around midnight local time.

Siaosi Sovaleni, Prime Minister of Tonga, during the 2022 volcano eruption and subsequent tsunami, said he was pleased the country’s emergency alert systems were working.

“The population is better informed this time around than the last time. I think it was much more scary [in 2022] . . . nobody knew what’s happening. The communication was down.”

‘We have to be prepared’
Vinnel said that she was satisfied overall with how Aotearoa responded.

“Obviously, it’s not ideal that initially we didn’t think there was a tsunami threat based on the initial assessment of the magnitude of the earthquake. But these things do happen. I’m not sure that there was anything that could have been done differently.”

John Townend, a geophysics professor at Victoria University of Wellington, told RNZ Pacific that these happen frequently around the world,”but one of this size doesn’t really happen more often than about once every decade.”

The last time an earthquake surpassed the magnitude 8 level was the 2011 Tōhoku disaster in Japan, which clocked out at 9.1.

But Townend said that the characteristics of the “subduction zone earthquake,” were largely in line with expectations for it’s kind, a “subduction zone earthquake”.

“They have happened repeatedly in the past along this portion of the Kamchatka Peninsula . . .  these things happen in this part of the world.

“In a New Zealand context, this earthquake was about one magnitude unit bigger than the Kaikoura earthquake and it released about 30 times more energy.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is warning coastal areas  are expected to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in the Pacific.

A tsunami threat was issued for Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands.

The warnings were issued just after 3pm by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. The earthquake was nearly 38 km deep.

• READ MORE: Tsunami warning for 7.7 magnitude earthquake cancelled

In its warning, NEMA said: “Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

“People … should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.”

The first tsunami activity causing these strong currents and surges may reach New Zealand in the areas North Cape at approximately 5pm, NEMA said.

“This may be later and the first tsunami activity may not be the most significant. Strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this advisory is cancelled.”

Coastal inundation was not expected, NEMA said.

The areas under threat:

• The West Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Whanganui including the West Coast of Auckland, Manukau Harbour and New Plymouth
• The East Coast of the North Island from Cape Reinga to Tolaga Bay including Whangārei, Great Barrier Island, the East Coast of Auckland, Waiheke Island, Waitematā Harbour, Tauranga, Whakatane and Opotiki
• The West Coast of the South Island from Farewell spit to Milford Sound including Westport, Greymouth and Hokitika

Advice for people in areas under threat:

• Stay off beaches and shore areas
• People on boats, liveboards and at marinas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials
• Move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries
• Do not go to the coast to watch the unusual wave activity as there may be dangerous and unpredictable surges
• There is no need to evacuate other areas unless directly advised by local civil defence authorities
• Listen to local civil defence authorities and follow any instructions and share this information with family, neighbours and friends

RNZ Pacific senior reporter Walter Zweifel said the warning broadcast for New Caledonia on RRB, a commercial radio station, applied to all islands, with people being asked to evacuate coastal areas for higher ground.

Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issued the following statement: “An earthquake of this size has the potential to cause destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours.

“The National Disaster Management Office advises people over all Vanuatu group to take appropriate action and precautionary measures upon receiving this advisory. This includes immediate evacuation from coastal areas to higher grounds.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The managing director of Radio FM Broadcom, Katalina Tohi, asked Tonga’s disaster minister during last Sunday’s media conference to explain whether the kingdom’s warning sirens were damaged.

“I did not hear the sirens. Maybe Poasi [Tei] will explain what had happened,” Tohi said in Tongan discussing the devastation of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano eruption and tsumani on January 15.

She told the media conference it was important to be cautious about what they would do and what instruction they should give to people if a disaster like this happened again.

• READ MORE: Concern grows over psychological trauma amid Tonga’s recovery
• Australia and New Zealand compete with China for Tongan influence
• Global aid effort underway for Tonga’s recovery from the Hunga tsunami
• Other Tonga volcano eruption reports

Tohi also said the police had to order people who were at the Nuku’alofa waterfront watching the Hunga eruptions to leave and go to higher ground, meaning the people were unaware a tsunami was coming.

Disaster Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Poasi Tei did not answer the question directly, instead saying that when he was assured a tsunami was coming, he immediately called the director of the Met Service and told him to “sound the alarm for evacuation”.

He did not say what happened to the siren and whether the alarm he was referring to was meant for the sirens.

The minister said he was at his home on the day of the tsunami when he heard the explosion from the Hungas. He did not mention hearing any sirens.

The Kaniva News correspondent in Tongatapu said no sirens were heard, even when the waves started flooding Nuku’alofa in the afternoon. He said the sirens were allegedly damaged.

The correspondent said the government’s tsunami warnings were announced on radio.

Sirens could have forewarned residents
Critics believed a siren warning might have helped warn some residents in time to flee to higher ground.

An earlier warning might have given them time to take provisions with them. This would have been especially helpful on the islands of ‘Atatā and Mango.

Local reports said that about six hours elapsed before the tsunami hit Tongatapu. People lined up at the Nuku’alofa waterfront, which is 65km from the Hungas, to watch an unusual swirling of the water.

The same unusual activity was seen in the waters around Mango the same morning.

A report from Kanokupolu, which was the hardest-hit town in Tongatapu, said a tsunami hit the town before the deafening explosion was heard from the Hungas.

Many believed if the sirens had been working, they could have been sounded ahead of the shockwaves striking the islands.

Local media who interviewed the Mango evacuees after they arrived in Nuku’alofa revealed the survivors were uninformed and they did not mention hearing any sirens.

Many said the tsunami happened so quickly and suddenly — and that they were “absolutely unprepared”.

Children warn parents
Some parents said before the tsunami hit they were busy with their normal preparation of food and cooking for the following day, which was Sunday. They only became aware of the deadly waves coming after their children called at them to look at the sea.

Some said they were confused when they heard people yelling at them to run.

They said when the first explosion was heard the big waves had already crashed into the middle of the village, destroying houses and trees.

They found their first high ground to take refuge, but the waves were so big they had to keep running into the bush before they felt safe.

Fear of famine
There was a fear of a possible famine in Tonga after the tsunami caused significant damage and wiped out some towns and islands. It also blanketed the whole of Tongatapu with a thick layer of volcanic ash.

Most plantations are dying while families are struggling to clean up the dust brought inland by one of the world’s most powerful volcanic eruptions.

Dead animals
Meanwhile, the public is being warned to keep away from places which are littered with animal carcasses drowned in the tsunami.

Locals have been left retching over the putrid smell of rotting cows and pigs.

Work to remove the animal remains are in progress in Tongatapu, especially in the town of Kanokupolu.

Republished with permission. Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva Tonga News.

Fiji’s Department of Mineral Resources needs time to liaise with a number of agencies before emergency warnings or alerts are issued, says acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

He made the comment after being quizzed on the delay in issuing a tsunami warning in Fiji following the underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga on Saturday.

The National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) issued a public advisory after 7pm on Saturday — two hours after the volcano erupted.

• READ MORE:  Tongan volcanic eruption reveals the vulnerabilities in global telecommunications
• Tonga’s undersea communications cable could take weeks to repair
• Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next
• Other APR reports on the tsunami

While many found out about the volcanic activity on social media, just as many thought the explosions were thunder.

Many living in coastal communities were also unaware the volcano was erupting — until tidal surges flooded their communities.

Sayed-Khaiyum said the Mineral Resources Department was in close contact with seismology experts in New Zealand.

He said the department was also in contact with various other international agencies for assessments, adding that it required very “sophisticated equipment to predict these things as to when it would occur”.

“It is not our ability to say that this will happen in the next hour and that is something the experts will tell us, so this is why it is critically important to keep the radio on as all messages as and when needed will be given on the radio,” he said.

Luke Nacei is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

RNZ News

Large waves in the Far North have forced 120 people to be evacuated as big swells from Cyclone Cody and the surge from yesterday’s volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga begin to hit Aotearoa New Zealand.

A tsunami hit the kingdom after undersea volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai erupted for eight minutes, throwing clouds of ash into the sky, yesterday afternoon.

Waves flooded the capital Nuku’alofa, where video footage has shown water engulfing buildings.

• READ MORE: RNZ News live updates on the eruption and tsunami
• ‘Rain of stones’ and ‘deafening sound’ coming from Hunga’s volcanic activities reported in Tongatapu
• Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next
• Other APR reports on the tsunami

The eruptions have been heard as booms or “thumps” across the Pacific, in Fiji, Niue, Vanuatu, and in New Zealand.

RNZ listeners from Northland, to Wānaka in Central Otago have reported hearing what sounded like gunshots, loud bangs, or sonic booms.

The National Emergency Management Agency issued an update this morning after yesterday’s tsunami warning that the advisory remains in place for the north and east coast of the North Island and the Chatham Islands, and has been extended to the west coast of the South Island.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Cody is expected to bring gale force winds and large swells to the eastern coast of Aotearoa’s North Island over the next few days.

Tidal surges in Far North
Police said they received a number of reports regarding tidal surges from people based in the Far North between 11pm and 12am, including Te Rere Bay and Shipwreck Bay.

Police, Fire and Coastguard also assisted with evacuations of boats moored at Tūtūkākā Marina last night.

A number of boats and moorings were damaged by large waves washing ashore.

Northland Civil Defence’s Murray Soljak said damage caused to boats in Tūtūkākā Marina last night were due to a single wave, however, surges along the coast were continuing at regular intervals.

A camp site at Mahinepua Bay was also inundated, about 50 people were in the camp at the time and all were accounted for.

Infrared Satellite Imagery shows how clear skies were fast replaced by the giant #eruption cloud over #Tonga in the past couple hours. pic.twitter.com/pxqA4LymlH

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) January 15, 2022

NZ Defence Force stands ready
RNZ Pacific reports there has been little contact with Tonga since the underwater eruption.

Communications with Tonga has been down since 6.30pm yesterday, with reports that power had been cut in the capital.

Tongan authorities should have a clearer picture today of the scale of the damage from Saturday’s volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The New Zealand Defence Force is currently monitoring the situation in Tonga, and said it stood ready to assist if requested by the Tongan government.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “the images of the volcanic eruption in close proximity to Tonga are hugely concerning”.

Posting on her social media account, she added: “Communication as a result of the eruption has been difficult, but our Defence Force team and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working as we speak to establish what’s needed and how we can help.”

She said an update would be given at 3pm NZT.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tsunami videos out of Tonga this afternoon following the Volcano Eruption. pic.twitter.com/JTIcEdbpGe

— Jese Tuisinu (@JTuisinu) January 15, 2022

A new tsunami warning is now in force for all of Tonga following this evening’s violent eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai undersea volcano with tidal waves flooding the shoreline of the capital Nuku’alofa.

There is also a tsunami advisory in place for parts of New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and a marine warning for eastern Australia, reports RNZ News.

The eruption came shortly after locals in Tongatapu reported a “deafening” sound of an eruption this afternoon. They also reported stones pouring down on the main island of Tongatapu.

• READ MORE: RNZ Pacific live updates
• Earlier report — Tonga tsunami warning lifted but volcano still monitored
• Journalist based in Tonga describes ‘huge’ volcanic explosions
• Residents share photos of apocalyptic red skies in wake of Hunga’s large volcanic activities

No injuries or deaths have been reported.

Stay safe everyone pic.twitter.com/OhrrxJmXAW

— Dr Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau (@sakakimoana) January 15, 2022

Kaniva News correspondent in Tonga Patimiosi Ngūngūtau shared a photo of sea waves flowing inland.

He described the deafening sound as “weird”.

‘Rain of small black stones’
“It was a rain of small black stones and black ash,” he said.

He said they had evacuated to Liahona in the central south.

Ngūngūtau said ash not only covered vehicle screens but their impact sounded like they could break the screens.

The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai undersea volcano erupts as captured by satellite. The dust cloud at the end of the video reaches a radius of 500 km. Video: Ventusky

Tonga Geological Services said at 1.45pm this afternoon satellite images captured this morning between showed volcanic eruption continuing, with ash emitted and detected at 7.20am this morning.

Tonga issues tsunami warning after undersea volcano erupts https://t.co/t2rjMNZb9Z

— ABC News (@abcnews) January 15, 2022

“This ash plume was due to an eruption that lasted 10 to 15 minutes and was drifting downwind to the east from Hunga. No further eruption has been detected since then,” it said.

“Near shore water turbulence caused by the eruption is expected to have ceased for all shores of Ha’apai and Tongatapu islands. It is advised that the public observe currents before entering the water.

“Owners of rainwater harvesting systems in all Tonga are advised to check for ashfall on your roofs for ash before reconnecting your guttering systems.

“Please clean if ashfall is evident. For locations of residents where the pungent smell of sulphur or ammonia is experienced please use breathing masks if helpful”.

BREAKING: The Pacific Island nation of Tonga is tonight the scene of a disaster after a tsunami struck. An underwater volcano erupted, plumes of smoke blacking out the sky and sending powerful waves through villages. https://t.co/wx2NZaxEPi @AlexLewisJourno #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/7Nng0zmT3d

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) January 15, 2022

Flooded coastal roads
RNZ News reports tidal waves crossed the shoreline in Nuku’alofa and flooded coastal roads and properties.

There is panic and people are worried and uncertain what to do, RNZ Pacific reporters said.

The tsunami advisory for New Zealand’s north and east coast of the North Island and the Chatham Islands came around 8.45pm from NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency).

It said people in those areas might experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore.

People are being urged to stay away from beaches and shore areas until 4am tomorrow.

There was no need to evacuate other areas unless directly advised by local civil defence authorities.

Coastal inundation (flooding of land areas near the shore) is not expected as a result of this event.

TVNZ 1News reports that the second eruption in as many days had sent ash, steam and gas 20 km into the air.

A journalist based in Nukuʻalofa told the channel the situation was “precarious”.

“You’ll forgive the wobble in my voice because we’ve had a very frightening hour,” she said.

Asia Pacific Report collaborates with Kaniva Tonga.

The tsunami marine warning issued for all of Tonga waters following the violent eruptions of underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai has been lifted.

Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai erupted on Friday sending ash, steam and gas 20 kilometres into the air.

The volcano had been active from 20 December 2021 but was declared dormant on  January 11.

• READ MORE: Tsunami threat over volcano eruption

The head of Tonga Geological Services, Taaniela Kula, told RNZ Pacific that at 4am on Friday, January 15, an eruption was picked up on satellite.

Kula said the eruption on Friday was almost seven times bigger than the one on December 20, bigger in terms of the radius of the plume that was scattered from the volcano, up to 250km away from the volcano radius.

He said his team visited the site on Friday to see up close, 2-3km away from the volcano, and the eruption of ash really shot up to over 1km into the atmosphere.

“That created an ash column of about 5km diameter just elevating ash up to 20kms into the atmosphere, that was really high, and the plume covered that 5km diameter of that island.”

Kula said it appeared to have been sourced from two locations but “we couldn’t identify on Friday because of too much plume and the source was not clear but his team could see multiple shooting … and ash”.

He said it was the biggest eruption he has seen on the site.

Overnight, Kula said they noted that the lack of ash emerging into the atmosphere and the satellite picked up ash was drifting to the east and dispersed after, around 2am. It had gone past ‘Otu Mu’omu’a islands of Ha’apai to the East side.

“This morning, steam and gas plume coming out of the volcano, drifting Eastwards, and so they have lowered the aviation colour code from ‘Red’ to ‘Orange’ this morning because of no sign of ash.”

Government to supply clean drinking water to Fonoi and Mango Islandshttps://t.co/4CQx490ELG pic.twitter.com/TCkLipbZKO

— Tonga Portal (@tongaportal) January 14, 2022

Kula said a lot of ash was noticed in the Ha’apai group and this morning a navy boat is shipping out drinking water to locals.

The Tonga Geological Services said people were told to disconnect their water supplies on Friday and to ensure that there was no ashfall on their rainwater harvesting system, especially their roof and also their gutter system before they reconnect it.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it is hard not to feel like New Zealand is having a run of bad luck, with residents waking up today to a tsunami alert amid the covid-19 restrictions.

The tsunami alert was triggered after three quakes overnight – the first of 7.3 magnitude struck about 2.30am just off the east coast of the North Island.

The second was 7.4 magnitude near Kermadec Islands at 6.41am, and the third was a magnitude 8.1 quake near Kermadec Islands at 8.28am.

• READ MORE: Major 8.0 quake at Kermadecs, NZ warning for people to move higher
• RNZ’s tsunami alert live blog

At 3.45pm, the National Emergency Management Agency cancelled all of the tsunami warnings.

Emergency Management Minister Kiritapu Allan said there are no reports of damage at this stage to property, but the focus had been on evacuation and further assessment would follow.

The prime minister said HMNZS Canterbury was due to be at the Kermadec Islands to carry GNS scientists, Sir Peter Blake Trust scholarship holders, and a group of iwi but the covid-19 alert level changes on Sunday had prevented that deployment from happening.

“Otherwise we would have had people on the island at the time and I can’t imagine what that experience would’ve been like,” she said.

Possible ‘dangerous situation’
Ardern said what would have been “a very distressing if not dangerous situation” had been prevented in this instance.

She said when she had felt the earthquake she had checked in with the minister at 2.29am.

Asked about what she thought given the country was dealing with a pandemic and an earthquake, she said: “Bugger it, pretty much what everyone else thought at that time.

“But this is as the minister has said, we are the shaky isles and what we’ve got to do is make sure no matter what experience we have we do everything we can to prepare so that in the future if we have another experience that we are even better prepared than we were.

“As I walked into the Beehive bunker, where we undertake our Civil Defence emergency co-ordination, two things struck me. First that it’s hard not to feel like our country is having a run of bad luck when you have an earthquake, tsunami alert and pandemic to contend with all in one day.”

But she said walking past images of past natural disasters plastered on the walls to the bunker, she realised the efforts of Civil Defence teams.

“We have had our share of tough moments in this country, but within that we have always been blessed incredible people who work in our emergency system.”

Allan said there had been multiple aftershocks after the initial quakes.

Auckland to move to level 2
Meanwhile, Auckland will move to alert level 2 and the rest of New Zealand will move to level 1 at 6am on Sunday morning, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced, reports RNZ News.

Ardern announced the move while speaking to media after a cabinet meeting to decide on alert level changes.

This will be reconsidered with a plan to move Auckland down a level at the start of the next weekend if possible, she said.

“If you are sick, stay at home, don’t go to work or school and don’t socialise. Keep track of where you’ve been at all times.”

The restriction of 100 people at events will be in place.

No new cases of covid-19 have been reported in the community for the fifth day in a row or in managed isolation today.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

An 8.0 earthquake has struck near the Kermadec Islands, hours after a 7.4 quake near the Kermadecs and a 7.1 off the North Island coast,

A 7.4 quake struck near the Kermadec Islands earlier this morning. The islands are 800km to 1000km from New Zealand.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said people on the East Coast of the North Island should head to higher ground immediately because of a tsunami threat from the 8.0 quake.

• READ MORE: Follow RNZ’s live blog

In its third earthquake warning, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said people in the East Coast of the North Island from the Bay of Islands to Whangārei, from Matata to Tolaga Bay including Whakatāne and Opotiki and Great Barrier Island must move immediately to higher ground.

It said people in the areas indicated on the mane should not wait, but should evacuate these areas even if they didn’t feel the earthquake.

“A damaging tsunami is possible,” it said.

The Kermadec Islands are more than 800km from New Zealand, and is an area where there is a lot of earthquake activity.

The last major quake in the region was in June, also a 7.4 magnitude tremor, which prompted warnings of strong currents around New Zealand’s coast but no damage was reported.

GNS Science seismologist John Ristau said today’s quake was along the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates.

It was the second severe quake in New Zealand waters this morning, after a strong 7.1 magnitude quake struck off the north Island coast.

More than 52,000 people reported on GeoNet that they felt the quake. It struck at 2.27am, 105km east of Te Araroa at a depth of 90km.

Hundreds of people moved to higher ground but there have been no immediate reports of damage. A tsunami warning for that quake was cancelled around 6am.

TSUNAMI WARNING: Areas that need to evacuate are indicated on this map. Evacuate these areas even if you did not feel the earthquake. DO NOT WAIT. A damaging tsunami is possible. More info at https://t.co/ccVFYQQoBr pic.twitter.com/bnEgZy8ikF

— National Emergency Management Agency (@NZcivildefence) March 4, 2021

In Suva, according to some alerts Fiji was reportedly on the path of a tsunami but no government alert or signs of movement/panic had been posted.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake has struck south-east of New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands and a tsunnami warning is in place for several countries.

Geoscience Australia said the quake, which struck early this morning, had an epicentre 400 km east of the town of Tadine.

Seismic data indicates the undersea earthquake struck at a depth of 54 km.

Several aftershocks of up to magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale have occurred.

The US Tsunami Warning System said hazardous tsunami waves up to a level of 1m above the normal tide level are possible for coasts within 1000 km of the epicentre with New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji particularly at risk.

Officials in American Samoa have cancelled a tsunami watch for the territory.

RNZ’s correspondent in Pagopago said officials reported no significant wave had been generated by the earthquake.

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency is warning that coastal areas  could experience strong and unusual currents, and unpredictable surges at the shore.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said there is a tsunami threat to offshore Australian islands and territories.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

Tourists have been fleeing the Indonesian island of Lombok since yesterday after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake killed at least 98 people – a death toll expected to rise, reports Al Jazeera.

More than 200 people were seriously injured in Sunday’s shallow quake as rescue workers scrambled to reach survivors in remote areas.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the damage was “massive” in northern Lombok. In several districts, more than half of homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

READ MORE: What you need to know about the Lombok earthquake

Al Jazeera reports Nugroho saying the death toll will “definitely increase”, adding more than 20,000 people had been displaced.

Thousands of buildings collapsed, especially in the north, near the earthquake’s epicentre, and power and communications were down in some areas on the popular tourist island.

A tsunami alert was issued immediately after the quake struck, sending panicked people running to higher ground, but it was later rescinded, Al Jazeera reports.

“When it happened, we stood with residents in the middle of the street and watched houses collapse around us,” said Yustrianda Sirio, who was visiting the island.

‘Screamed hysterically’
“Many of us screamed hysterically.”

Some airlines have added extra flights to help tourists leave the island, while about 1200 foreign and domestic tourists were evacuated by boat from three Gili islands off Lombok’s northwest coast, said Nugroho.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen, reporting from Tanjung in northern Lombok (see video), said: “The destruction here is unbelievable.

“After there was a tsunami alert yesterday, a lot of [tourists] panicked; they climbed into trees, they ran into the hills, a lot of people got injured there,” she said.

“There’s no arrangement, there’s no transport, there’s no food, there’s no water for them, so a lot of them are completely lost, they’re completely confused, still scared and the only thing they’re telling me is that they want to leave the country as soon as possible.”

The Indonesian military said it was sending a vessel with medical aid and supplies and would provide logistical support.

• Earlier story – quake toll rises to 91

Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) continues to serve people across the Pacific region, delivering essential day to day news and information and providing a vital lifeline in times of natural disaster, says the public broadcaster.

Chief executive Paul Thompson confirmed that there would be no reduction in Radio New Zealand’s commitment to its Pacific broadcast partners.

His reassurance came as Radio Australia closed its international shortwave transmission service to Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.

Paul Thompson emphasised the importance of RNZI’s 25-year relationship with New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours.

“People in remote parts of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu who may be feeling the loss of the ABC can rest assured RNZI will continue to provide independent, timely and accurate news, information and weather warnings as well as entertainment to its Pacific listeners,” he said.

RNZI has been broadcasting since 1990 to the Pacific and says it is regarded as the “authoritative voice of the Pacific”.

It can be heard across the region and has proven to be a vital lifeline during times of disaster.

Station of the year
In 2007, RNZI was named international Radio Station of the Year by the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB).

RNZI broadcasts timely cyclone and tsunami warnings via shortwave and can continue to be heard should local broadcasters go off-air due to a cyclone or other disaster.

Paul Thompson said the essential nature of Radio New Zealand’s role in the Pacific had been regularly underlined by the positive feedback to RNZI following cyclone and tsunami alerts.

“A Vanuatu villager has told our reporter Koroi Hawkins that he knew to take shelter during Cyclone Pam just because of the warnings broadcast on RNZI. At times like this we are the essential voice of the Pacific,” Thompson said.

RNZI’s coverage of the aftermath of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu in 2015 won RNZI reporter Koroi Hawkins a silver medal at the prestigious New York Festival Radio Awards in 2016.

RNZI broadcasts in digital and analogue short wave to radio stations and individual listeners across the Pacific region.

About 20 Pacific radio stations relay RNZI material daily, and individual short-wave listeners and internet users across the world tune in directly to RNZI content.

The RNZI signal can sometimes be heard as far away as Japan, North America, the Middle East and Europe. RNZI also provides rich content for online users through our website.

As a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Kirakira in the Solomon Islands early today, triggering a tsunami warning across the Pacific, many residents of the country would have turned to shortwave radio for more information.

The tsunami warning has since been called off, though assessments of damage from the quake are not yet complete.

Sadly, this vital communication service is under threat in this already under-resourced region.

For almost 80 years, Australia has provided such shortwave services, including vital emergency service information, to Asia and the Pacific.

But government funding cuts saw Asian services turned off in January 2015. And now the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has decided to cut the remaining services to residents of remote parts of the Pacific, Papua New Guinea and parts of northern Australia by ceasing its shortwave radio services to the Pacific from the end of January 2017.

The ABC has argued the shortwave transmissions, which can travel thousands of kilometres and be picked up by low-cost transmitters run on batteries or solar power, are outdated. Michael Mason, ABC’s Director of Radio said:

While shortwave technology has served audiences well for many decades, it is now nearly a century old and serves a very limited audience. The ABC is seeking efficiencies and will instead service this audience through modern technology.

The problem is, of course, that in remote places in the Pacific, particularly in Melanesian nations such as Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, there is no access to an FM signal, limited internet and, where internet is available, it is expensive.

Advances in technology such as low-earth orbit satellites, which provide high speed global internet services, show promise. But, as yet, the receiving technology is expensive and the receivers aren’t available in rural and remote area.

How shortwave evades censors
The ABC has said it will replace international shortwave services with digital services including a web stream, in-country FM transmitters, an Australia Plus expats app and partner websites and apps such as TuneIn radio and vTurner.

There was no mention of the use of updates to shortwave technologies, such as Digital Radio Mondiale, which is being used by Radio New Zealand, or using shortwave for digital data transmission, which cannot be censored or jammed.

The move away from shortwave to FM transmissions and digital and mobile services has been accelerated despite the fact that FM frequencies can easily be shut down by disaffected political leaders, as happened in Fiji in 2009 on the order of then self-appointed – but since elected in 2014 – Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.

It was a matter of national pride at the time for the ABC to be providing independent information for Fijians via shortwave, with then managing director of the corporation, Mark Scott, highlighting a text message sent from inside Fiji to the ABC, which read: “We are trying to listen to you online but are having difficulty. Please keep broadcasting. You are all we have”.

Shortwave radio has played a valuable role in getting information to communities in the middle of civil disturbance, such as in East Timor in the lead up to independence.

In Burma, it was internal leaders who sought the shortwave services. In 2009, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi called on Australia to provide shortwave broadcasts. At the time the ABC’s director of international, Murray Green, said the move reflected the ABC’s ongoing commitment to serving people in those parts of Asia and the Pacific who live without press freedom. Even before this announcement was made, the price of shortwave radios was increased in Burma’s Sittwe market.

Keeping people safe from disaster
It isn’t just a matter of providing information to censored countries. Shortwave also provides a reliable source of information, particularly during natural disasters.

Shortwave provides vital warnings of tsunamis to outlying island nations. It was a lasting communication method after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and was vital in the response to 2015’s Cyclone Pam, which devastated Vanuatu.

Shortwave transmissions go over mountains and seas, have a longer range, and don’t fall over and twist in storms like FM radio towers.

Shortwave is seen as a vital part of keeping communities safe. As an ABC correspondent wrote on their Facebook page, and as technology reporter Peter Marks mentioned on air, after Cyclone Pam:

We expected the worst. Death, injury, hunger. But when we arrived, the Dillons Bay village chief … told me they knew the cyclone was approaching, so they sheltered in the two solid buildings in the village. Most houses were flattened but not a single injury. I asked him how he knew the cyclone was approaching. He said, ‘ABC Radio’.

New Zealand and the UK take on China
The cuts to the shortwave services at the ABC are just the latest in a long line of budget savings to its international services.

While other cuts to the broadcaster garnered many headlines, the ABC has cut the shortwave, and also quietly closed its Vietnamese, Khmer and Burmese language services on 2 December  2016. The French-language service to the French Pacific is due to end in February 2017.

Thankfully for Pacific nations, while Australia is dialling back its shortwave services, New Zealand’s RNZ International is maintaining Pacific-wide shortwave transmission. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has also announced a major boost to its international broadcasts, including producing shortwave radio programmes for North Korea. The BBC is fearful of the rise of state-backed broadcasters such as China’s CCTV, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, and Russia’s RT.

The Pacific appears to be a specific concern for China, with Australia’s Lowy Institute tracking the extent of China’s aid programme in the Pacific at more than 200 projects worth $US1.4 billion since 2006 and the state-owned Xinhua News Agency actively covering the Asia Pacific.

In light of this, the BBC clearly recognises a need to boost its international broadcasting, using shortwave to beat censors in autocratic regimes.

It is a great shame for the Pacific that Australia no longer agrees.

Dr Alexandra Wake, a senior lecturer in journalism at RMIT, is an academic who maintains a career as a freelance journalist. Her last assignment for ABC Radio Australia was more than two years ago. This article was first published by The Conversation today and is republished under a Creative Commons licence and with the permission of the author.

• Magnitude 7.8 wake strikes Solomon Islands – tsunami warning eases

The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake at 4.18am local time as 8.0, but later downgraded it to 7.8.

“Hazardous tsunami waves from this earthquake are possible within the next three hours along some coasts of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Kosrae,” stated the warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

The centre called on government agencies responsible for dealing with emergency situations to “take action to inform and instruct any coastal populations at risk in accordance with their own evaluation”.

The epicentre of the quake was registered at a depth of 48.7km, according to USGS.

There were no immediate reports of damage to homes in the capital, Honiara.

Tsunami warnings with ETA just hours after the quake struck was issued by the USGS for Kirakira, Auki, Honiara and parts of the Central and Isabel Provinces, but has since passed.

No evacuation was planned for the national referral hospital located on the coast of Honiara, sources said.

Preliminary reports from Kirakira said that while the quake was perhaps the biggest felt in recent times, there was no damage to homes and no immediate reports of casualties.

US Geological Survey

Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 earthquake struck Vanuatu about 1km off Malekula early today, seismologists say.

The quake, at 6.33am, was shallow, only 27km deep, and sparked a local tsunami warning which was cancelled shortly after.

It was felt throughout the country, and was strong enough to knock down shelves from Luganville to Vila.

Nothing more serious has been reported from areas closer to the quake’s epicentre.

The earthquake was centered on land about 5 km south-west of Norsup, a village on Malekula Island.

The United States Geological Survey, which put the preliminary magnitude at 7.0, said strong shaking was felt on the northern part of the island, though there was no immediate word from the region itself regarding damage or casualties.

Computer models from the USGS estimated that some 245,000 people across various islands may have felt the early-morning earthquake, including an estimated 18,000 people who may have perceived “strong” shaking.

Tsunami alert
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which initially put the preliminary magnitude at 7.3 before it was downgraded to 7.0, issued a tsunami alert for Vanuatu.

It said tsunami waves reaching 1 to 3 meters above the tide level were possible along some coastal areas.

As a result, the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issued a tsunami warning for eastern coastal areas of Malekula Island and the neighboring regions of Malampa, Sanma, and Penama.

The tsunami warning was canceled by 10 am local time and people who had been evacuated from coastal areas were allowed to return home.

“There were no reports of destructive tsunami being observed,” the department said in a statement.

• Large quake felt widely in Vanuatu