The tremor is the latest in a a series of 34 in the region in the last day, the USGS has said. It struck at a depth of 6.2 miles. There is currently no tsunami alert in force - but a series of quakes did trigger one earlier this month.
Seismic activity is commonplace in the region, located within the so-called Ring of Fire which stretches around the Pacific Basin.
On Monday, the American Geophysical Union tweeted: "An M8.1 #earthquake off the coast of #NewZealand triggered an estimated 300 #landslides on #RaoulIsland, the largest of the #Kermadec Islands.
A massive quake measuring 8.1 in magnitude rocked the islands last month - the strongest tremor recorded on earth in more than two years.
The earthquake struck at 8.28am local time on March 5.
People living in the north-east of New Zealand were urged to evacuate their homes and move as far inland as possible and to seek high ground.
Tsunami activity was anticipated along the coast for several hours.
The Kermadec islands are located roughly 500 miles off the coast of New Zealand's north island.
They are listed with the New Zealand outlying islands.
They have been uninhabited since the early 20th century, although the New Zealand government has operated a permanently manned meteorological and radio station on Raoul Island, the largest of the Kermadecs, since 1937.
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