Powerful quake strikes New Zealand, triggering small tsunami 

People evacuated from buildings along Dixon Street stand and sit on the street and the sidewalk in Wellington

A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island yesterday [Macau time], shaking residents awake, causing damage to buildings and prompting emergency services to warn people along the coast to move to higher ground to avoid tsunami waves.

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck just after midnight in a mostly rural area close to the city of Christchurch, but appeared to be more strongly felt in Wellington, the capital, more than 200 kilometers to the north. The quake was followed by a number of strong aftershocks.

The quake temporarily knocked out New Zealand’s emergency call number, 111, police reported. It caused items to fall from shelves and windows to break in Wellington, and forced hundreds of tourists onto the streets as hotels were evacuated. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries in the city.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management reported that a tsunami wave struck at about 1:50 a.m. and warned residents living in low-lying areas anywhere along the country’s east coast to move to higher ground.

Information from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center indicated that the tsunami waves could be highest around the South Island town of Kaikoura, at about 1.5 meters (5 feet). The Hawaii-based center said it did not expect the quake to generate a destructive Pacific-
wide tsunami.

Within New Zealand, there was confusion about the tsunami threat.

The ministry had earlier sent out a message on Twitter saying there was no tsunami threat to the country. But then it sent out another message — “situation has changed – tsunami is possible” — before reporting that a tsunami had hit.

The ministry said people on the coast near the epicenter could expect waves of between 3 and 5 meters.

While there were no immediate reports of any major damage or injuries in Christchurch, the quake brought back memories of a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that struck the city in 2011, destroying much of the downtown area and killing 185 people in one of New Zealand’s worst disasters. The latest quake was centered farther away from Christchurch than the one in 2011, which caused an estimated USD25 billion in damage.

The quake was far less violent than the one that struck her city in 2011, Christchurch resident Hannah Gin said, adding that there was no jarring up and down or side to side, just a long, rolling sensation. But it went on for much longer than the typical quakes that strike the area, she said. She was less concerned about running for cover than she was about vomiting from the motion sickness, she said with a chuckle.

The quake was centered 93 kilometers northeast of Christchurch, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. AP