MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The quake centered 66 kilometers (41 miles) northwest of the town of Kaikoura, at a depth of 55 kilometers (34 miles).
There was no word of casualties or damage although the quake was widely felt.
Parts of New Zealand lie on the so-called Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped string of volcanoes around the Pacific Rim, where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur.
Last February the island nation was rattled by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed at least 166 people.
Didn't wake this fella. #eqnz pic.twitter.com/ckVIl2ssjf
— Nick Bewley (@nickbewley) 24 апреля 2015
I'm sure that it's not great in places, but @NZStuff your photo to illustrate the damage of #eqnz is hilarious pic.twitter.com/rxzFetEbbJ
— The Ruminator (@RuminatorNZ) 24 апреля 2015
Never forget the bottles that fell from the shelves this day as casualties of the earthquake. #eqnz
— Simon Wong (@wimon_song) 24 апреля 2015
Strong earthquake, SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND, Apr-24 03:36 UTC, http://t.co/ZFpB4WyB5g
— USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) 24 апреля 2015
