WELLINGTON: A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off New Zealand’s South Island on Tuesday (Mar 25), authorities said, prompting the country’s disaster agency to warn residents to avoid coastal areas.
The tremor hit at 2.43pm local time (9.43am Singapore time) at a depth of 10km off the southwest tip of South Island, according to the USGS.
Government seismic monitor Geonet reported the quake at a depth of 33km about 160km north-west of Snares Islands.
More than 4,700 people felt the temblor, said Geonet, as New Zealand media reported items falling and buildings swaying.
Centred around 160km from mainland settlement Riverton, it was initially recorded as a 7-magnitude jolt before it was downgraded.
New Zealand’s emergency management agency warned residents to avoid nearby coastal areas due to the risk of “strong and unusual currents”.
“No land threat is expected,” the agency said in a national advisory at about 3.30pm.
The agency later lifted its tsunami advisory at 8.05pm, saying the threat had passed.
Rose Ivory, owner of La Riviera Guesthouse in Riverton, said her “whole car was rocking and rolling”.
“That was quite a long one. Everyone was quite calm about the whole thing. I went into the grocery shopping, yeah, no one seemed to be too bothered about it.”
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 New Zealand Herald newspaper reported a Facebook user saying: “We had things fall off shelf. The outdoor wooden table dancing.”
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.
