Pacific Ocean earthquake: Tsunami alert issued after powerful 7.4 quake strikes north of New Zealand

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Sunday in the Kermadec Islands region of the South Pacific ( USGS )

A powerful earthquake has struck the Kermadec Islands region in the Pacific Ocean north of New Zealand, briefly triggering a tsunami warning.

The US Geological Survey said a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the arc of islands, which are 800–1,000km (500-600 miles) from New Zealand's North Island.

The agency said the earthquake hit a spot about 872.6 kilometres northeast of Ngunguru, a New Zealand town of about 1,400 people, at 10.55am on Sunday. 

There are no reports of damage. 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii based on the available data.

New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management also said on Twitter that there was no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the quake.

The Kermadec Islands, a volcanic archipelago, are prone to earthquakes.

The islands are a dependency of New Zealand and lie at the western edge of the Kermadec Trench.