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HONG KONG, June 18 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 jolted 705 km NE of Opotiki, New Zealand at 12:49:52 GMT on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 33.0 km, was initially determined to be at 33.513 degrees south latitude and 177.192 degrees west longitude.