Hello and welcome to Yahoo's live news blog this Monday. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck off of Australia's Pacific neighbour Tonga overnight, which briefly triggered a tsunami warning for the island nation.

Fears of a tsunami rocking New Zealand have arisen after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck off the country's South Island earlier today. The powerful tremor hit at 2.42pm local time on Tuesday - shortly before 2am in the UK.

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake that rocked the bottom of the South Island struck in a seismic environment poorly understood by scientists – but which poses a major tsunami hazard. T