Hurricane-hit New Zealand was struck by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday, centred near Wellington.
According to a quake monitoring agency, the 6.1 ‘strong earthquake’ had a depth of 48 km and was 50 km north-west of Paraparaumu. The 76-kilometer-deep earthquake occurred at 7:38 p.m. There were no reports of any loss of life or damage to property due to the earthquake.
The shock was felt in the communities of Paraparaumu, Levin, Porirua, French Pass, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Wellington, Whanganui, Waverley, Palmerston North, Feilding, Picton, Eketahuna, Masterton, Martinborough, Hunterville, Hawera, Blenheim, Seddon, Nelson, Dannevirke, Pongaroa, Stratford, Opunake, and Taihape.
New Zealand lies on the seismically active “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-km arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches girdling much of the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile Cyclone Gabrielle weakened and moved away from country as the authority started to assess the damage caused by significant flooding, landslides and high winds that left three people dead.
Residents in hard-hit areas are now being asked to conserve water and food because of fears of shortages.
The worst of the weather has now cleared and meteorological service WeatherWatch said in a statement that Cyclone Gabrielle is now east of the country and continuing to track away from the North Island with weather now improving.