News Desk
WELLINGTON: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck New Zealand near the capital Wellington on Wednesday at a depth of 48 km (30 miles), government seismic monitor Geonet said.
The tremor’s epicentre was 50 km from the town of Paraparaumu, according to Geonet.
The country’s National Emergency Management Center tweeted that the jolt was “widely felt in the North Island.”
No damage, injuries reported yet
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury or any tsunami warning.
New Zealand is located on the seismically active “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-km arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches encircling much of the Pacific Ocean.
The tremor comes after Cyclone Gabrielle caused significant damage across the North Island this week leaving four people dead, and displacing over 10,000.
