An earthquake rattled Tonga earlier this morning prompting tsunami warnings in the region. Initially there were warnings placed for a number of Pacific Island nations and even a small chance of a wave being generated in New Zealand.

The warnings have been downgraded since 9.15am NZT, as no tsunamis had been tracked in the Pacific region.

The US Pacific Warning Centre had earlier issued a warning that an earthquake of such a magnitude had the potential to generate a tsunami. 

The quake was located about 200 kilometres southeast of the Tongan Islands and measured 7.9 on the richter scale.