A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck central New Zealand just after midnight, the US Geological Survey said, generating a tsunami that hit the northeast coast of the South Island.
The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management warned of the risk of destructive waves along the nation’s entire east coast and urged residents in low-lying areas to evacuate and seek higher ground.
Anna Kaiser, a seismologist at GNS Science, said a tidal signal or surge of up to 1m had been recorded in the North Canterbury region of the South Island.
Photo: AP
“That’s reasonably significant so people should take this seriously,” she told Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
The quake was centered 91km north-northeast of Christchurch, the biggest city on New Zealand’s South Island.
A magnitude 6.3 quake there in February 2011 killed 185 people and caused widespread damage.
Photo: AP
The quake was felt throughout most of New Zealand.
Some injuries had been reported, but there were no immediate reports of deaths, the ministry said.
“The whole house rolled like a serpent and some things smashed, the power went out,” a woman who gave her name as Elizabeth told RNZ from her home in Takaka, on the South Island.
Chris Hill, a fire officer in Cheviot, a coastal town near the quake’s epicentre, said officials had gone door-to-door evacuating residents.
“Everyone seems OK here,” he said. “There’s a lot of debris in houses, but at this stage it doesn’t look like anything too bad has happened.”
Residents in Wellington said glass had fallen from buildings into the streets and hotels and apartment buildings had been evacuated.
RNZ said the Wellington City Council had received multiple reports of significant damage.
A series of aftershocks were recorded around the nation, some as strong as magnitude 6.1.
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