New Zealand rocked by magnitude 7.4 earthquake, may cause ‘large surges’

A significant earthquake has struck New Zealand, registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 Friday, (Thursday in southern europe), morning.

A WARNING of hazardous tsunami waves within 300km of the epicentre of the powerful earthquake was issued within minutes.

However, the alert was later downgraded with no tsunami threat for New Zealand or Australia. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) stated on Twitter there is no tsunami threat, based on current information from the initial assessment. But it did note coastal areas may experience strong and unusual currents, as well as unpredictable surges along the shores.

Close to 9,000 people felt the earthquake according to GeoNet, with many feeling weak to moderate shaking.

The quake comes just days after another earthquake was felt off the Bay of Plenty about 5.30am on Tuesday.

The 5.1 magnitude quake was 10 kilometres south-west of Te Kaha with a depth of 28 kilometres.

A further three small earthquakes followed that day with the magnitude between 2.9 to 5.1