Evacuation orders were issued for New Zealanders living in some areas on the east coast on the North Island after a third earthquake struck in the area on Thursday.
The latest was a magnitude 8.0 quake that struck the Kermadec Islands, northeast of New Zealand's North Island. This came shortly after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in the same region.
Earlier, another large 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck about 900 kilometres away on the east of the North Island and was felt by tens of thousands, causing its own tsunami warning. This warning was later lifted.