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Three quakes, including one that was the strongest to ever hit the region, were recorded in New Zealand on Friday, sparking tsunami warnings that have now been withdrawn anyway.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas on the northern island after the third earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.1, hit the region. There have been reports of traffic jams as people struggled to reach higher terrains. The tsunami alert, however, was issued at about 3:43 p.m., about 13 hours after the first quake. Some abnormal waves hit parts of the coast but on Friday afternoon authorities said the worst was over. Residents were told they could return home, but were warned to stay away from beaches.
The archipelagos south of the Pacific, New Caledonia and Vanuatu have also been warned to prepare for dangerous waves. Their shores could see waves up to 3 meters high while parts of South America, including Peru, Ecuador and Chile, were warned they could record waves over a meter high on their shores. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said tsunami waves were seen but no damage has been reported so far.
The three quakes, all above magnitude 7, were recorded in the early hours of Friday. The latter hit around 8.30am, near the uninhabited Kermadec Islands, 1000 km northeast of New Zealand.
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