By SPA
Wellington, New Zealand : A magnitude 6.8 earthquake off New Zealand’s east coast rocked much of the country Thursday, causing power cuts in one city but no known casualties, emergency officials and media said.
The quake, centered in the Hikurangi undersea trench off North Island hit at 8:55 p.m. local time (0755 GMT) at 40 kilometers (25 miles) below the surface, the GNS Science geological agency reported. It was located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of the coastal city of Gisborne.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake at magnitude 6.6.
We have got a lot of damage and are still assessing the situation, police inspector Waata Shepherd said by phone from Gisborne.
We have no injuries, Shepherd said. Some roofs have collapsed. We are still trying to ascertain the amount of damage.
Power lines were down in some areas, and the quake left a huge hole in one of Gisborne’s main roads, he said. Police secured the city’s central business district where some roofs had collapsed and buildings were damaged, and power has been restored at the local hospital.
Gisborne District Council spokesman Vance Walker told TV-One News that three buildings had collapsed in the central city without injury or loss of life.
We’re currently … trying to ascertain what damage has been done» across the city area, he said. The National Crisis Center was activated to assist local agencies dealing with the quake’s aftermath, said a spokeswoman at the Civil Defense and Emergency Management
Ministry who declined to be named citing policy.
The temblor did not trigger any tsunami warning at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
Shepherd said he had heard no reports of tsunami waves, but police were advising residents to remain in their homes.