A strong 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the region of New Zealand's Levin, at 7:52 AM local time on Monday (19:52 GMT Sunday). The earthquake depth was 45 kilometres, according to the state-sponsored geological hazard monitoring agency GeoNet.
The initial magnitude assessment made by GeoNet was 5.7, with over 37,000 reports from the capital, Wellington, and several other regions of the country, such as Blenheim, Raumati, Lyttelton, Petone.
M5.7 quake causing strong shaking near Levin https://t.co/G7aXdWpNqj
— GeoNet (@geonet) May 24, 2020
Twitter users reported that they felt "shaken" by the earthquake in Wellington as apartments were "rocking and rolling".
Everyone ok? That was me yelling as the apartment was rocking and rolling. #earthquake #wellington #shook #eqnz
— Jodi Ihaka (@JodiIhaka) May 24, 2020
Felt that in chch.
— liza macdonald (@amzairly) May 24, 2020
Apparently my building wobbles with it.
Shaken and stirred.🏠#Levin #Wellington #eqnz #earthquake
— Leighton Baker (@LeightonBakerNZ) May 24, 2020
#earthquake life is checking the cosmetic damage to the apartment whilst trying to get ready for work after a quake. #NZEQ #quakelife #Wellington #NewZealand
— Pandora Tolson (@pandoratolson) May 24, 2020
Shaken by that #earthquake in #Wellington. It didn’t get me out of bed but it went on for quite a while. 5.9 they say. It all seems eerily quiet now. The birds have stopped discussing it, which means we will soon. #eqnz
— Katharina Zia Mason (@KatZolitaMason) May 24, 2020
According to GeoNet, a series of weaker earthquakes followed the initial temblor, with magnitudes varying from 3.3 to 3.7. No casualties have been reported.
New Zealand is situated on the collision zone between the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and earthquakes occur often. This region is a part of the Pacific Ocean basin's "Ring of Fire", famous for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand saw a series of strong earthquakes in spring 2019, some with a 7.0 magnitude.
