File pic Photo: 123RF
A tsunami threat that had been issued after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage, a body of water located between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica, has been withdrawn, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said on Friday (local time).
There was no tsunami threat for New Zealand.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and Chile's SHOA marine authority had briefly issued tsunami warnings after the quake, whose depth the United States Geological Survey estimated at 10km, but lifted these around an hour later.
Chilean authorities had warned of possible impacts for its Prat and O'Higgins military bases at the tip of Antarctica and in Cape Horn, a small municipality on an island headland located at the southernmost tip of the Tierra del Fuego.
The earthquake struck just before 5.30pm local time (2030 GMT) and, in little more than an hour, authorities withdrew the tsunami alerts.
The deep waters and rough, windy seas of the Drake Passage mean tsunami waves are less likely to intensify before hitting land.
Today's quake occurred after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck offshore in the southern Philippines, its seismology agency said o nFriday.
Tsunami warnings were issued in several countries and people in nearby coastal areas were urged to move inland or to higher ground.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued an update around noon local time saying the tsunami threat in the Philippines had passed, although warnings from other agencies remained in place.
-Reuters/ RNZ
