New Zealand's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has cancelled its tsunami activity warning issued after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the Pacific.
However it warns "strong and unusual currents" may continue overnight and urges caution at affected beaches and marine areas.
The quake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands near New Caledonia on Friday afternoon at a depth of about 38km.
The first tsunami activity was forecast to reach New Zealand around North Cape about 5pm, and NEMA issued a national advisory.
"Strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges will continue for several hours and the threat must be regarded as real until this advisory is cancelled," it warned.
"Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. People in or near the sea in these areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.
"People on boats, liveaboards and at marinas in these areas should leave their boats/vessels and move onto shore. Do not return to boats unless instructed by officials."
Around 9:40pm on Friday, NEMA said this national advisory has been cancelled.
"GNS Science has advised NEMA that tsunami wave activity has been observed at New Zealand coastlines this evening. This activity has now passed," it tweeted.
"NEMA advises that some strong and unusual currents may continue overnight and urges caution in affected beach and marine areas."
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said the tsunami threat had largely passed on Friday afternoon.
Earlier it had warned about the possibility of waves ranging up to 1 metre above the tide level across 26 locations in the South Pacific.
Vanuatu retracted a warning to seek higher ground and said a destructive tsunami is no longer expected, according to the Vanuatu Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department website.
In the aftermath of the quake, Australia's meteorology bureau issued a tsunami threat for Lord Howe Island off its east coast and warned the roughly 450 inhabitants to leave the water's edge due to waves and strong currents.
This was later downgraded to a marine warning.
"We haven't moved to higher ground and we're probably not going to," said Damien Ball of the Thompsons General Store on Lord Howe Islands. "We've been through this numerous times before and nothing ever comes of it."
Reuters / Newshub.
