Wellington, Feb 10: A powerful undersea earthquake struck north of New Zealand on Wednesday evening, prompting tsunami warnings in parts of the region.

The US Geological Agency said the magnitude 7.7 quake was centered at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) southeast of the Loyalty Islands. The shaking was not expected to cause significant damage or fatalities on land.

The US Tsunami Warning Center issued warnings of possible tsunami waves ranging from 0.3 to 1 meters (1 to 3.3 feet) for Vanuatu and Fiji. A tsunami watch was issued and then cancelled for American Samoa.

The region is prone to earthquakes because it sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the ocean.

Also, 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck in the South Pacific has generated a tsunami, the Australian weather agency said.

TSUNAMI CONFIRMED. Observation - Norfolk Is at 2:15am AEDT. MARINE THREAT warning for LORD HOWE ISLAND. Issued by JATWC 3:01 AM AEDT Thu 11 Feb 2021. Tsunami affecting marine area commencing after 2:45 am AEDT Thu, persisting for several hours, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet,

As it warned of a threat to Lord Howe Island, which is about 550 kilometres (340 miles) east of Australia's mainland.

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New Delhi (PTI): The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a public notice directing all government and private hospitals to maintain mandatory stocks of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) at all times.

The Commission referred to the November 7 Supreme Court order which issued stringent and time-bound directions to all states and Union Territories (UTs) and the central government to secure educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands/ depots and railway stations from stray dog ingress.

Major highlights of the order include identification and securing of premises of government and private educational institutions (schools, colleges, hostels), hospitals and medical facilities, sports complexes/ stadiums, bus stands/ lSBT (Inter-State Bus Terminal) and railway stations through fencing, boundary walls, gates and similar structural and administrative measures within eight weeks.

According to the order, each institution must designate a nodal officer responsible for cleanliness, prevent dog ingress, maintain liaison with municipal authorities, display the details of the nodal officer prominently and notify the municipal body.

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It also called for mandated quarterly inspections to ensure no dog habitats exist within or near these premises and to immediately remove any stray dog found inside the institution.

"All government and private hospitals must maintain mandatory stock of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and immunoglobulin (RIG) at all times," the public notice said.

"All medical colleges/ institutions are, therefore, requested to take necessary actions as per the directives of the Supreme Court," the notice stated.

The NMC also enclosed the letter sent by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava addressed to all secretaries of the government of India and all chief secretaries of states and UTs highlighting the court's order.