Wellington, New Zealand—New Zealand issued a tsunami warning for southern coastal areas Monday, following a powerful 7.4 earthquake near the South Island city of Christchurch around midnight.
“A tsunami is possible,” the national civil defense organization, which is in charge of New Zealand’s emergency management, said in a bulletin.
“The first wave activity may not be the most significant,” it said, adding tsumanmi activity would continue for several hours.
However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a warning following the quake and there were no immediate reports of casualties.
“Based on all available data a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected,” reported the center.
The New Zealand government’s GeoNet website said the quake was “felt widely” throughout the country and warned citizens to watch out for aftershocks.
Tamsin Edensor, a mother of two in Christchurch, said the shaking lasted a “long” time.
“We were asleep and woken to the house shaking, it kept going and going and felt like it was going to build up,” she told AFP.
She said there was no sign of damage on her street and the power was still on, adding that she was worried about towns and villages closer to the epicenter.
“We’re getting aftershocks at the moment. We’re going to stock up on water supplies just in case.”
In September, a strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck the east coast of New Zealand, generating a small tsunami, but no significant damage or injuries were reported.
In February 2011, a 6.3 earthquake left 185 people dead in the South Island city of Christhurch.
New Zealand is on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, which form part of the so-called “Ring of Fire,” and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.