A huge 8.0 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of New Zealand. Drake Passage is a body of water that sits between Antarctica, Argentina, Chila, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
And it has now been struck by a major earthquake, as officials keep watch on the liklihood of tsunamis breaking out. The quake happened at 2.16am local time, and was detected at a depth of 6.2 miles down. It’s exact location was just between Antarctica and South America.
It happened at 11.16 pm local time in Argentina about 710 kilometers (441 miles) southeast of Ushuaia, Argentina, according to the US Geological Survey. Other countries impacted were American Samoa, Canada, New Zealand and several neighbouring island.
The Drake Passage connects the South Atlantic and South Pacific oceans between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Though less quake-prone than other stretches of Chile’s coast, the Drake Passage straddles a highly active seismic and geological zone. The area is very remote and there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
However, images from Chile shows thousands of locals on the streets, avoiding being inside buildings, while news of tremors and tsunamis filters through.
As of now, most countries have ruled out tsunami threats, with Australia being one of the first to give the all-clear.
Chile’s Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service issued a tsunami warning for its Antarctic territory after the quake struck 258 km (160 miles) northwest of the Base Frei site, it said in a statement, but nearly three hours on there have been no signs of tsunamis as yet.
In Honolulu, Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre claimed there could be “hazardous tsunami waves from the earthquake” in the immediate aftermath of the quake, but later calmed fears by stating there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii or other nearby areas.
