Wellington (New Zealand): A strong magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the open waters of the Southern Ocean near the Australian territory of Macquarie Island today, US monitors said. There were no immediate reports of damage.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre Web site said no tsunami alert had been issued. The US Geological Survey reported the temblor occurred in the open ocean 110 kilometres southwest of Macquarie Island, Australia's main sub-Antarctic territory. The quake hit at 0500 IST yesterday.
The quake was centred some 755 kilometres southwest of New Zealand's uninhabited Auckland Island and some 1,995 kilometres south of the New Zealand capital of Wellington.
