WELLINGTON: A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off New Zealand’s South Island on Tuesday (Mar 25), authorities said, as the country’s disaster agency assessed if there were any tsunami threats.
Residents of the Southland and Fiordland regions should stay away from beaches and marine areas as strong and unusual currents may present a danger, the National Emergency Management Agency said.
More than 4,700 people felt the quake, according to government seismic monitor Geonet, as New Zealand media reported items falling and buildings swaying.
The National Emergency Management Agency said in an update at about 3.30pm that no “land threat” was expected but that it was still assessing the quake.
Those in coastal areas should follow the “long or strong, get gone” guidance.
“People should be self-evacuating immediately from all places near the coast where the earthquake was felt either for longer than a minute or was strong enough that it was hard to stand,” it said in an advisory on its website.
“We had things fall off shelf. The outdoor wooden table dancing,” a user posted on Facebook, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
Ben Sievwright, manager of Ziff’s Cafe and Bar in Invercargill on the South Island, said he felt “a little sway”.
“Just a little wee shake, nothing too eventful,” he told AFP.
The quake was reported at a depth of 33km about 160km north-west of Snares Islands, the northernmost of New Zealand’s sub-antarctic islands, Geonet said.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake, which was downgraded from an earlier magnitude of 7, happened at a depth of about 10km.
Australia’s national weather bureau said there was no tsunami threat to the mainland, islands or territories.
New Zealand straddles the boundary of two major tectonic plates and is rattled by thousands of small earthquakes every year.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake levelled swathes of Christchurch in 2011, killing 185 people, according to government figures.
Source: Agencies/CNA/dc/zl
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