Thousands of people felt the quake in New Zealand with media reporting buildings swaying and items falling from shelves.

The tremor– initially recorded at a 7.0 magnitude– hit at 2:43 pm local time (0143 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) off the southwest tip of the country’s South Island

An earthquake of 6.8 magnitude hit New Zealand's South Island, 155km north-west of Snares Islands. It occurred at a depth of 12km under the sea. There is no tsunami warning, but strong currents and surges are expected.