Massive quake rattles New Zealand
New Zealand’s South Island has been rocked by a massive earthquake that was felt as far away as Sydney, some 1,300 miles distant.
According to the New Zealand Herald newspaper, the quake, which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale, was centred near the tourist town of Te Anau in the early hours of this morning. It is one of the largest quakes to hit the country in decades.
There are no reports of injuries – the region is very sparsely populated – but several roads are reported to have been blocked by landslides, and a group of schoolchildren on a camping trip are said to have been cut off but are not in danger.
One expert told the newspaper: “The quake went on for a long time – these are the kind of earthquakes that make the whole earth ring. We have been very lucky – an earthquake of this size near a population centre could cause a lot of damage.”
The NZ Herald quotes one hotel manager, who sums up what it feels like to be caught in an earthquake: “You’re lying in bed, get a bit of a shudder and you wait for it to subside thinking that’s it, but it grew in intensity and didn’t stop. The whole house was moving like a blade of grass in the wind.”
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