At Least Two Dead, Tsunami Warning Issued After New Zealand Rocked by Strong Earthquake

wallstreetjournal - At least two people died when a powerful earthquake struck New Zealand near the city of Christchurch, causing strong jolts felt more than 120 miles away and prompting a tsunami threat along the country’s east coast.

The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey initially recorded as magnitude 7.4 but later raised to 7.8, struck just after midnight Sunday and was centered 93 kilometers (57 miles) northeast of Christchurch, on the country’s South Island.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said at least two people were killed, but provided no details at a news conference Monday morning in Wellington, the capital.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management said on its verifiedTwitter account that a tsunami threat covered all of New Zealand’s east coast, including Christchurch, Wellington and the Chatham Islands, and urged people in those areas to move to high ground or go inland.

The agency later said the first wave had arrived on the northeastern coast of the South Island, but didn’t say how tall it was. “The first wave may not be the largest. Waves may continue for several hours,” MCDEM said on Twitter. At 6.09 a.m. local time, the tsunami threat was downgraded for much of the east coast, although the agency continued to warn of unusually strong currents and unpredictable flows of water close to shore.

The USGS said the quake was at a depth of 23 kilometers. The quake was followed by a number of strong aftershocks.

New Zealand Police said one casualty had been reported at a collapsed property in Kaikoura, a coastal town on the country’s South Island. “Police are also trying to access a property at Mt Lyford, north of Christchurch, where a further casualty has been reported, which is believed to be a fatality,” it said.

In Wellington, 214 kilometers north of the quake’s epicenter, people were urged not to travel into the city as train and ferry services were suspended and some roads could be blocked. However, the city’s airport remained open following an inspection of the runway.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had just completed a visit to New Zealand, leaving for Oman hours before the earthquake struck.

New Zealand is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean prone to seismic upheaval. In 2011, a 6.3-magnitude quake killed 185 people in Christchurch—most because of building failures—triggering a nationwide clampdown on unsafe properties. (FullText)