A 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck near Vanuatu this morning is not likely to cause a tsunami that will pose a threat to New Zealand.

This is the assessment from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, was 10km deep.

'The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) has issued a Tsunami Threat Message in response to the earthquake,” says a statement from the MCDEM this morning.

'MCDEM has assessed the information with the assistance of scientific advisors. Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused a tsunami that will pose a threat to New Zealand.”

Closer to Vanuatu, 3m high waves are being predicted within 300km of the epicentre.

The quake was 10km deep and hit shortly after 7.30am, NZ time. It had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, but that had since been revised to 7.0.

The quake was centred about 95km southeast of the town of Santo.

A spokesman at Vanuatu's Bauerfield International Airport in Port Vila says the quake did not feel major.

"It was just a small one.”

The quake had not disrupted flights and the spokesman said he was not aware of any damage.

-Additional reporting by Stuff.co.nz

Realtime geology - M7 Vanuatu earthquake rolling past @uiowa Trowbridge Hall right now pic.twitter.com/hgxmo0khpl

— HawkeyeSeismo (@HawkeyeSeismo) April 28, 2016