Three powerful earthquakes were recorded around the world on Saturday [NZ time]. The first happened in the South Pacific, with the shake centred west of Tonga. The United States Geological Survey reported the 6.3 quake happened at 5.38pm on Saturday [NZ time]. It was centred 572km beneath the earth’s surface, about 340km west of Tonga.

There was no indication of a tsunami warning, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. The reading was revised down after initially being recorded at 6.5. Several hours later, an earthquake with a preliminary of magnitude 7.3 was felt near Visokoi Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Shortly after, a 4.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded 445km south of Kathmandu, Nepal. READ MORE


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