New Zealand earthquake: map, 2023 Wellington earthquake in NZ explained, deaths, what has Prime Minister said?

The North Island was hit by a ‘strong’ earthquake as it recovers from recent poor weather
(Image: Geonet)(Image: Geonet)
(Image: Geonet)

According to government seismic monitor Geonet, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake has occurred near New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the town of Paraparaumu on the south-western coast of New Zealand’s North Island, itself 34 miles north of Wellington. The event took place at 7.38pm local time on Wednesday 15 February.

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A strong shaking that lasted for several seconds was felt by a Reuters witness in the capital. New Zealand lies on the seismically active "Ring of Fire", a 40,000 kilometre (24,855 mile) arc of volcanoes and ocean trenches that encircles much of the Pacific Ocean.

The quake comes as New Zealand recovers from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle, which this week severely damaged the North Island, killing four and displacing more than 10,000 people. Here is everything you need to know about it.

What is the damage?

Geonet said it had received more than 60,000 reports of people having felt the tremor - though 23,000 of them identified it as a "light" quake, and less than 5,000 said it was “strong” - and said the earthquake “caused a long and strong shake felt widely across the North Island and Marlborough region.”

No immediate reports of damage or injuries were made, and there was no tsunami warning.

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While the earthquake was comparatively weak to the recent tragedy in Turkey, and caused no loss of life or significant damage, New Zealand’s prime minister Chris Hipkins described his thoughts on the seismic event as “unprintable”. Speaking to local news site Stuff in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, which this week battered the country’s North Island, he said: “I was looking out the window for a plague of locusts.”

A child and a volunteer fireman are among the victims of landslides and floodwaters that have cut off several settlements - on Wednesday, emergency personnel were preparing to make their final rescues.

Was Princess Anne there?

The island nation was shaken as Princess Anne and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence paid a visit to New Zealand's disaster management centre in Wellington and commended the country’s emergency response to the recent bad weather.

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