Earthquake: 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits, high alert in these areas

Earthquake tremors were felt on Tuesday near the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The earthquake occurred at 2:43 pm local time. It is a very powerful earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.8.

This information has been given by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The depth of the earthquake was 33 km. According to the Geonet report, 8 earthquakes have occurred in different areas of New Zealand in the last 24 hours. The first earthquake occurred in Napier on Tuesday morning, which had a magnitude of 2.7, which was described as very weak.

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake struck northeast of Wellington at 3:43 a.m. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake, which was classified as moderate, struck northwest of Snares Island. The 6.8 magnitude earthquake is likely to cause damage, but there are no immediate reports of major damage. The tremors were felt across New Zealand. The quake was previously recorded at 7.0.

New Zealand is on the Ring of Fire

New Zealand is located in the Pacific Ocean’s ‘Ring of Fire’, where seismic activity and volcanic eruptions are common. The Ring of Fire is a 40,000-km-long belt that stretches from the southern tip of South America to the west coast of North America, the Bering Strait, Japan and New Zealand.

According to a BBC report, the country experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes every year, of which only 20 are of magnitude greater than 5.0. The region is vulnerable to earthquakes due to the collision of the Indo-Australian and Pacific plates. According to experts, local authorities and disaster management teams have begun work to assess the impact of the earthquake.

New Zealand’s Emergency Management Agency has warned people in the area to avoid visiting nearby coastal areas. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu, there is currently no tsunami warning.

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