‘Destructive’ tsunami warning after New Zealand quake

NEW ZEALAND - A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked New Zealand early Monday, damaging buildings and triggering a tsunami which saw people in coastal areas fleeing to higher ground. The ministry of Civil Defence, responsible for emergency management in New Zealand, described the tsunami as “an event of life-threatening or national significance”. The shallow tremor was centered some 90 kilometers north of the South Island city of Christchurch and was felt throughout the country. Although no injuries were reported, there were reports of widespread damage, with electricity and phone services cut in many areas. Monday’s quake, struck at 12:02 am (1102 GMT Sunday) and was 23 kilometers deep, the US Geological Survey said after revising its initial estimate which had rated the tremor slightly weaker but much shallower. It ignited painful memories for residents in Christchurch which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor which killed 185 people in one of New Zealand’s deadliest disasters. “It was massive and really long,” Tamsin Edensor, a mother of two in Christchurch, told AFP, describing the powerful quake as the biggest since the deadly 2011 tremor. “We were asleep and woken to the house shaking, it kept going and going and felt like it was going to build up.” The main tremor was followed by a series of strong aftershocks and there were reports of damaged buildings in the small rural township of Cheviot near the epic centre. In a brief message the Prime Minister John Key tweeted: “I hope everyone is safe after the earthquake tonight.” The ambulance service said it did not receive any reports of quakerelated injuries. (AFP)