6.3-magnitude earthquake reported on South Island of New Zealand

An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was reported north of Te Anau on the South Island of New Zealand on Thursday evening, prompting a tsunami warning from authorities.

Earth Sciences New Zealand reported the strong quake at 9:14 p.m. local time with a depth of 51 km and seven other tremors with magnitudes between 3.3 and 4.3 in the area.

The National Emergency Management Agency first issued a tsunami warning but later downgraded it to an advisory, Radio New Zealand reported, noting the 6.3-magnitude quake had been revised down to 5.9.

xinhua