Source NDTV World
WELLINGTON — A powerful earthquake struck the southwestern region of New Zealand’s South Island on Thursday evening, rattling tens of thousands of residents and prompting emergency officials to rapidly issue coastal safety warnings.
The seismic event occurred at 9:14 PM local time, centered approximately 40 kilometers north of Te Anau—a prominent gateway town to the popular Fiordland tourist destination.
High-Ground Evacuations Initially Ordered
Immediately following the tremor, New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued a tsunami warning for the West Coast of the South Island, spanning from Milford Sound to Puysegur Point. Authorities aggressively advised residents and visitors in the threat zone to drop what they were doing and move on foot to the nearest high ground or head as far inland as possible to avoid gridlock traffic.
“The shaking was very severe,” reported the manager of a hotel in nearby Te Anau, who noted hearing the tremor before it hit. “I thought it was the big one we’ve been told is coming.” More than 20,000 citizens across the country reported feeling the intense, prolonged shaking to GeoNet, the national geological hazard monitoring service.
Warning Downgraded as Magnitude Revised
As seismologists gathered more precise data, NEMA subsequently downgraded the tsunami warning to a tsunami advisory. Initial real-time systems pegged the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.3, but subsequent reviews by GeoNet and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) revised the magnitude to 5.9, originating at a depth of roughly 53 kilometers.
Because the earthquake proved slightly smaller than initially estimated, emergency managers stated that severe land inundation or flooding is no longer expected. However, officials are maintaining a strict advisory for coastal margins, warning people to stay away from beaches, harbours, and estuaries.
NEMA Safety Advisory: Unpredictable surges and strong, dangerous currents are expected to persist along the coast for several hours. Swimmers, boaters, and shore-goers are advised to exercise extreme caution.
Assessing the Aftermath
Local councils are taking safety precautions as daylight approaches. The Queenstown Lakes District Council announced that infrastructure such as the Edith Cavell Bridge will remain closed until engineers can inspect it for structural integrity at first light. Motorists traveling regional mountain routes, including the Crown Range, have also been told to keep a sharp eye out for fallen debris or dislodged rocks on the roadways.
Fortunately, emergency services have received no immediate reports of major structural damage or casualties. The region has since registered several smaller aftershocks, which experts say is completely normal behavior following an event of this scale.
New Zealand straddles the boundary of the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates—a volatile segment of the “Pacific Ring of Fire”—making it one of the most seismically active nations on Earth. Local civil defense organizations are praising residents who took the initial warning seriously, reiterating the golden rule for coastal quakes: “If it’s long or strong, get gone.”
