New Zealand earthquake triggers tsunami up to 15 metres high

A powerful earthquake has generated a 6ft tsunami in New Zealand, with the first waves hitting the South Island, government officials have said. Describing it as ‘an event of life-threatening or national significance’ the department of civil defence warned people all along the country’s east coast to move to higher ground. The magnitude-7.9 quake struck in the early hours of Monday near the city of Christchurch. It was at a relatively shallow depth of six miles. Anna Kaiser, a seismologist with the GNS Science, said the government’s earthquake monitoring service, the quakes were close to the coast. ‘They’ve been quite large. We’ve also seen a signal on the tide gauge at Kaikoura which is up to one metre (three feet) so it’s reasonably significant, so people should take this seriously.’ However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that based on available data ‘a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.’ The ministry had earlier sent out a message on Twitter saying there was no tsunami threat to the country. It then sent out another message – ‘situation has changed – tsunami is possible’ – before reporting that a tsunami had, in fact, hit. Some minor damage was reported in the capital, Wellington, more than 120 miles away. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries in Christchurch. People have been posting pictures of themselves escaping Wellington | Metro News via IFTTT

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