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(WELLINGTON 7 Jul Reuters) - the New Zealand civil defence authorities said they expected stronger than normal ocean currents and an increase in the size of the waves on the coast is, but no wall of water after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean east of the country.
A tsunami warning was issued for coastal areas east of the island of the North, including the main town of the Auckland country, with the first scheduled just wave before 9 local time (2100 GMT).
However, the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Center has issued the warning original after the earthquake, later cancelled its warning, but reported waves were 2 2-2, 7 feet high on Raoul Island, the main island in the Kermadec (68-84 cm).
The civil defence of New Zealand has maintained a warning that people should stay out of the water and beaches in the areas of the target.
"We could get enough extreme currents, so it is a threat to the ships, but we do not anticipate the damage to the Earth," Clive Manly controller of civil defence in the Auckland region, told radio New Zealand.
He said, that it is possible that waves of up to a metre above normal heights can occur.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake at 7: 03 p.m. Thursday (1903 GMT Wednesday) at the epicentre, 131 miles (211 km) of Raoul Island, part of the Kermadec Islands, and was only 30 miles (48 km) deep, the USGS said.
The Kermadec Islands are uninhabited except for science and conservation teams and sit to 1180 kilometres north of the New Zealand.
They sit in a geologically active region of the South Pacific where the plates tectonic Pacific and Indo-Australian meet, and large earthquakes are not unusual.
The New Zealand is more alert to earthquake since the city of Christchurch in the South Island, was struck by two earthquakes devastating last September and February this year. The latter has killed 181 people and caused a NZ about 15 billion dollars in damage.
(Gyles Beckford)
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