Tonga tsunami warning cancelled

A massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the ocean bed near the South Pacific island nation of Tonga, sparking warnings of a possible tsunami as far away as New Zealand.

Despite the warning, no giant waves hit Tonga.

Authorities on New Zealand’s east coast were put on high alert, but there were no immediate signs of a tsunami.

Sergeant James Tasmania of Gisborne police said civil defence authorities such as police had been put on “high alert,” but he added that “none of the (ocean) monitoring buoys have reported anything significant.”

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has cancelled its tsunami warning.

It also downgraded the quake to 7.8 magnitude.