Did the tsunami blow new zealand off the map?”
Strong quake off NZealand prompts brief tsunami scare 2 hours 46 mins ago A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the southwest coast of New Zealand on Wednesday, US seismologists said, prompting a brief tsunami warning but no casualties or major damage. The epicentre of the undersea quake was located about 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of the city of Invercargill, on South Island, at a depth of about 35 kilometres, the US Geological Survey reported. It struck at 0922 GMT. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said a low-level tsunami was generated near the epicentre, but later cancelled its warning, saying the waves no longer posed a threat to the whole country. “Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre,” the Centre said, but noted sea levels were only about 20 centimetres (eight inches) above normal. New Zealand civil defence officials said they had issued only a “potential tsun
July 16 (Bloomberg) — New Zealand was spared a destructive tsunami after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck off its South Island, the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. A tsunami warning issued by the center was in effect for about 2 1/2 hours after the quake hit at 9:22 p.m. New Zealand time yesterday, with the residents of Auckland and Wellington advised of a possible threat, according to e-mailed alerts. No other countries in the Pacific were affected. The quake was followed by a magnitude-5.8 aftershock 19 minutes later. Sea-level readings indicated a tsunami had been generated by the temblor, the center said, though there was no report of any impact. At Jackson Bay, the sea had risen 0.17 meter (6.7 inches) above normal, the agency said. The coastal area near the epicenter is sparsely populated and includes Fiordland National Park. “When no major waves are observed for two hours after the estimated time of arrival or damaging waves have not occurred for at least two hours t
