(UPDATED at 7:45am). An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 struck at approximately 3:20am HST southeast of the the Loyalty Islands. The islands are located near New Caledonia. A tsunami watch is now in effect for American Samoa and a potential threat exists for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake including Fiji, Vanuatu and New Zealand, The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirms there is no tsunami threat to the Island and State of Hawaiʻi.
Official Statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER 2 NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI 435 AM HST WED FEB 10 2021 TO - EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE OF HAWAII SUBJECT - TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 0320 AM HST 10 FEB 2021 COORDINATES - 23.1 SOUTH 171.5 EAST LOCATION - SOUTHEAST OF LOYALTY ISLANDS MAGNITUDE - 7.7 MOMENT EVALUATION BASED ON ALL AVAILABLE DATA A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. REPEAT. A DESTRUCTIVE PACIFIC-WIDE TSUNAMI IS NOT EXPECTED AND THERE IS NO TSUNAMI THREAT TO HAWAII. THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.
