A powerful earthquake has hit northeast of Christchurch in New Zealand.
And tsunami waves hit the coast two hours after the quake, after the authorities urged people in the area to “move to high ground”.
The
US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude quake hit 59 miles (95km) from Christchurch.
Twitter user Hayley Colgan said the quake was "the the most terrifying earthquake I think I've felt in my 23 years in New Zealand".
A Christchurch resident told the AFP news agency: "We were asleep and woken to the house shaking, it kept going and going and felt like it was going to build up."
Christchurch is the biggest city on New Zealand's South Island. It is still recovering from the 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people and destroyed buildings.
The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence posted this statement with advice on what action to take.
https://twitter.com/NZcivildefence/status/797772085640577024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
There have been no immediate reports of injury as a result of today’s tremor, but it has already caused plenty of damage.
Some homes are without power and for a time the emergency services number was out of action, according to reports.
This resident captured the moment when it hit:
And this shop worker made this video recording the damage it caused to a supermarket:
The Wellington Live news service post this message at around 1pm UK time warning people to evacuate from coastal areas before the tsunami hit:
