Earthquake in New Zealand: Tsunami fears as huge 6.7 quake strikes between Australia and New Zealand

The earthquake struck at 2.42pm (NZDT) on Tuesday (25 March) at a depth of 12km about 160km northwest of Snares Islands, and was felt by thousands in the vicinity on the mainland. NZ's National Emergency Management Agency urged residents in nearby regions to stay clear of beaches.

The alert read: “Residents of Southland and Fiordland should stay away from beach and marine areas as strong and unusual currents may present a danger. Strong currents and surges can injure and drown people. There is a danger to swimmers, surfers, people fishing, and anyone in or near the water close to shore.

“People in or near the sea in the following areas should move out of the water, off beaches and shore areas and away from harbours, marinas, rivers and estuaries.” There is no official evacuation warning for the area, however authorities have urged residents to self-evacuate in the case of “immediately from all places near the coast where the earthquake was felt either for longer than a minute OR was strong enough that it was hard to stand”.

It adds: “In these areas a tsunami may have been generated and may arrive quickly, so evacuate immediately to the nearest high ground, out of all tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as possible.” The risk of dangerous and unusual currents is expected to diminish later on Tuesday night.

The Bureau of Meteorology advised there is currently no tsunami threat to Australia following the earthquake. A coastal sea-level gauge reportedly recorded a 10cm tsunami which lasted for 90 minutes after the earthquake in south-west Fiordland, on the south-western tip of South Island. The earthquake struck near the tectonic plate boundary where the Australian plate scrapes under the Pacific plate in an area known as the Puysegur Trench.