A major earthquake hit the west coast of the Southern Island of New Zealand. The earthquake was of very high magnitude and measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. A tsunami warning has been issue post the earthquake. The earthquake happened at 20:22 hrs local time and the epicenter of the quake was 161 kilometers west of the Invercargill. The info was release by the United States Geological Survey a monitoring body that measures earthquakes around the world.

As of now there have been no confirmed reports that the earthquake created a tsunami and thus the warning as of now only applies for New Zealand. The tremors of the earthquake were felt in the city of Queenstown as the buildings shook violently. There was also an aftershock and it happened twenty minutes post the quake and measured 5.2 on the Richter scale. There have been no casualties but has downed power and phone lines in the region.

If we look at past history, there have been Tsunami’s as a result of offshore earthquakes including the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake which created a devastating tsunami and caused major loss of life and property and is one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The main impact of the Tsunami was in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.