Wellington - An earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale was recorded Tuesday in the South Pacific, nearly 1,000 kilometres north of New Zealand, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake, at 0624 GMT, was centred about 215 kilometres south of Raoul in New Zealand's Kermadec Islands, a volcanic chain spread over 250 kilometres of ocean.

The islands are all uninhabited except for Raoul, where the Department of Conservation maintains a field station with about 10 staff. Radio New Zealand said there had been no reports of damage or injury from Raoul.

The Kermadecs are one of the most earthquake prone regions on earth, sitting on the edge of an undersea trench where the large and active Pacific Plate buries itself under the Australasian Plate.

The area is volcanically active and the department says earthquakes are an almost daily occurrence, but New Zealand seismologists say an average of only 18 shakes measuring 7 or more are recorded around the world each year. (dpa)