Strong 6.8 earthquake strikes remote area of South Pacific

A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). No tsunami alerts were issued.

The quake occurred at 10:53 a.m. ET, with its epicenter located in the Macquarie Island region, according to the USGS. It struck at a shallow depth of approximately 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor.

The location was remote and far from any populated areas. The nearest settlement is Bluff, in New Zealand’s Southland region, more than 760 miles (1,234 kilometers) away. USGS data indicated that no population centers were expected to have felt the tremor.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) stated that there was no tsunami threat to any region based on all available data.

The earthquake was preceded approximately 1.5 hours earlier by a magnitude 6.2 quake with an epicenter closer to New Zealand’s South Island. However, geologist Jamie Gurney, consulted by BNO News, noted that the two earthquakes are likely unrelated due to the distance and time difference between them.

The location is part of the commonly denominated Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active region that encircles much of the Pacific Ocean. While the Ring of Fire is known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it is not a single, unified system. The seismic events that occur along its various segments are typically caused by local tectonic processes and are not directly connected, even if they occur close in time.