Tsunami threat alert cancelled for NZ

WELLINGTON - New Zealand Civil Defence has stood down from monitoring a possible tsunami from a massive earthquake off Solomon Islands on Wednesday, meaning the national alert is now over.

However, the Civil Defence said there will still be a low risk of surges and currents in the 48 hours from 9 pm on Wednesday.

Earlier in the evening, the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management revised its tsunami potential marine and beach threat national advisory to cover only New Zealand's western coastline from Taranaki to Milford Sound.

The national advisory was issued after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Solomon Islands at 2:12 pm New Zealand Time on Wednesday and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii issued a tsunami watch for New Zealand.

Areas likely to be affected were Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui, Kapiti, Marlborough, Nelson/Tasman, West Coast, Milford, Dunedin and the Chatham Islands.

New Zealand's  National Crisis Management Centre, known as The Bunker, was activated after the tsunami warning centre in Hawaii's watch alert.