New Zealand Quake

A severe earthquake has struck East Cape, New Zealand and has sparked a tsunami warning.

09:24 05 September 2016

A 7.1 quake has struck 169km northeast of Gisborne on Friday morning. Residents in the Tolaga Bay were asked by authorities to evacuate their homes after the quake has triggered a tsunami.

 

Some damage to property has been reported but there were no injuries.

 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii later tweeted that only an eight inches wave had been measured.

 

Gisborne residents were already given a go signal to return to their homes although they were warned against going to beaches, estuaries and stream as the tsunami threat had not entirely lifted.

 

According to US monitors, the quake, which occurred at 04:37 local time at a depth of 19km, was followed by a series of large aftershocks.

 

New Zealand experiences about 15,000 earthquakes per year but only about 150 are large enough to be felt.