WELLINGTON -- New Zealand's Civil Defense has downgraded its tsunami warning for New Zealand on Thursday in the wake of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake which hit off the country's Kermadec Islands.

The earthquake occurred near the Karmadec islands at 7:03 a.m. NZ time on Thursday (1903 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 20 km. It was centered 160 km east of Raoul Island.

No damages have been reported so far.

The Civil Defense said it is confident the threat is lower than expected. However, it said people should still stay out of the water on Thursday.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a regional tsunami warning for the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand and the Pacific nation of Tonga following the quake. It has also canceled its tsunami warning.

Earlier, New Zealand National Crisis Management Center was activated and Civil Defense said the first wave to arrive would reach New Zealand at 8:52 a.m. on Thursday.

A wave of between 60 cm and 1 meter was detected at Raoul Island.

Civil Defense said it was not expecting a wall of water but is concerned about strong currents in coastal areas.

East Cape was expected to be the first place to see the wave at about 8:52 a.m., North Cape at 8:54 a.m. and Gisborne at 8:59 a.m. It will arrive in Auckland at about 10 a.m..

The first wave may not be the largest. Waves will continue for several hours.

The Kermadec Islands, which are often rocked by severe quakes, have no permanent population. Only a small New Zealand Department of Conservation team live on Raoul island.