Australia on tsunami alert after NZ quake

SYDNEY: Parts of southern Australia were on Sunday on tsunami alert after an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 hit south of New Zealand, officials said.

Geoscience Australia said the quake hit near the Auckland Islands at 1053 IST and was centred 350 kilometres southwest of New Zealand and 1,400 kilometres southeast of the southern Australian state of Tasmania.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a tsunami bulletin warning people in coastal areas in Tasmania and southeastern mainland Australia to listen to news updates.

"The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre has detected a large undersea earthquake south of New Zealand in the Auckland Islands region and is seeking confirmation that tsunami have been generated," it said.

If tsunami have been generated, then they could start affecting southern Australia from 5:45 pm (local time) and reach Sydney by 06:15 pm, it added.