KATHMANDU: A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck off New Zealand’s Kermadec Islands in the South Pacific Ocean on late Wednesday.

The epicentre lies 201 km northeast of Raoul Island,  according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The earthquake was reported at 12:11:13 UTC.

The seismic event occurred at the depth of 12.4 km (± 3.2) with the coordinates of its origin 28.033°S, 176.386°W, the USGS said.

A shallow earthquake of magnitude 6.0 was reported in the remote Kermadec Islands on June 5 also. It had occurred at the depth of 10 km.