Concerns over a potential tsunami have arisen following a significant earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale, which has struck in the waters between Australia and New Zealand.
While scientists evaluate the amount of threat, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island has caused worries of a potential tsunami.
Thousands of people felt the magnitude-6 earthquake that hit at 2.42pm (NZDT) on Tuesday, located roughly 160km northwest of Snares Islands and with a depth of 12km.
The National Emergency Management Agency of New Zealand issued a warning to those residing in neighbouring areas to avoid beaches.
A website statement warned that “strong and unusual currents may present a danger” and advised residents of Southland and Fiordland to avoid beaches and marine regions.
People can get hurt or even drowned in strong waves and currents. At 4 p.m. local time, an alert said that “anyone in or near the water close to shore”, including surfers, swimmers, and fishermen.
No one should be in or near the water in or near the following locations: harbours, marinas, rivers, estuaries, beaches, and coastal areas.
After 8 o’clock in the evening local time, the likelihood of hazardous and uncommon currents decreasing.
Residents are being advised by NEMA to self-evacuate if the earthquake was felt “immediately from all places near the coast where it was strong enough that it was hard to stand,” even if there is no official evacuation notice for the region.
Seize the opportunity to move to higher ground, away from any tsunami evacuation zones, or as far inland as you can go if you live in a region where a tsunami has been created and is expected to reach soon.
More than 4,700 individuals would have been affected by the earthquake, according to the government’s seismic monitor Geonet.
Near the earthquake zone, local media reported that buildings swayed and furniture fell.
Items that were on the shelf fell off. A resident shared the image of the outdoor wooden table in motion on Facebook.
In southwest Fiordland, on the southwestern corner of the South Island, a coastal sea-level gauge supposedly recorded a 10-centimetre tsunami that persisted for half an hour following the earthquake.
There is no immediate danger of a tsunami striking Australia as a result of the earthquake, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Near the Puysegur Trench, a location where the Pacific and Australian plates scrape beneath each other, an earthquake occurred.
Very little is known about the area by scientists.
In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, seismologist Dr Finn Illsley-Kemp said, “This area is actually very poorly understood.”
“Some of our biggest earthquakes have occurred here, but there has been surprisingly little research into the exact tectonics compared to other regions.”
Source: DailyMail
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