Three earthquakes have struck to the north of the Kermadec Islands since last night.
Earthquake activity in the Pacific Ocean eased yesterday, after a burst of moderate to strong activity at several locations on Monday.
However, a short series of quakes, including two magnitude 6 events has occurred to the north of the Kermadec Islands since last night.
The sequence commenced with a magnitude 6.0 earthquake located 345 km north of Raoul Island at a depth of 55 km at 9:40 last night, Tuesday 17th July 2007.
Another magnitude 6.0 struck 325 km north of Raoul Island at a depth of 10 km just after midday today, Wednesday. This was followed by a magnitude 5.0 event, 335 km north of Raoul Island at a depth of 10 km at 2:54 this afternoon.
Scientific papers mention that the Kermadecs often experience pairs of earthquakes like the magnitude 6.0 events, and the location and depth of the magnitude 5.0 event suggests it is an aftershock of the second of the pair.
A series of seven earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.5 and 5.5 struck the Kermadec Islands between the 4th and 9th of July.
[Compiled from data supplied by the US Geological Survey and its contributing agencies.]