New Zealand’s capital rocked by series of earthquakes

VANCOUVER – New Zealand’s South Island was jolted by a significant earthquake Friday afternoon.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, struck at 2:31 p.m. local time (10:31 p.m. ET Thursday).

It was centred about 10 kilometres southeast of the community of Seddon and 81 kilometres west-southwest of the capital city of Wellington.

The earthquake was followed by a number of aftershocks, measuring in strength between magnitudes of 4.2. to 5.7.

Wellington, on the southern part of the North Island, reportedly experienced the most significant shaking.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said there was no major damage to the city’s infrastructure or office buildings. She said highways had become clogged as people left the city.

“We think this is business as usual,” she said, “but it is going to take a little while for people to get home tonight.”

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According to news website Stuff.co.nz, there was no threat of a tsunami and the country’s civil defence headquarters had not been activated.

The website also reported the quake was felt in the country’s largest city, Auckland — about 784 kilometres north of Seddon.

Trading on New Zealand’s stock markets was reportedly stopped and Wellington International Airport was temporarily shut down, until officials could inspect the runway, Stuff reported.

Bill Fry, a seismologist with New Zealand’s GNS Science, told the New Zealand Herald the quake was quite shallow — measured at a depth of only 9.9 kilometres below the Earth’s surface, according to USGS.

He noted that this could be one of the strongest quakes felt in recent weeks.

Several homes near the epicenter were severely damaged, with chimneys collapsing and roofs caving in, said police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn. She said a bridge was severely damaged on the main highway near Seddon, and that rocks and debris had fallen onto the road. Police closed a section of the highway.

New Zealand is prone to earthquakes.

On Feb. 22, 2011 an earthquake measuring 6.3 hit the city of Christchurch, causing extensive damage and left 185 people dead.

Six months earlier, on Sept. 4, 2010, a magnitude-7.1 quake hit the South Island region of Canterbury, near Christchurch. The February 2011 earthquake was considered an aftershock of the Canterbury quake.

–with files from The Associated Press