Powerful earthquake felt off New Zealand
Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes off coast of New Zealand, village evacuated
International media reports claim that residents of a small community on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island (in the Tologa Bay area) have been asked to evacuate after a severe 7.1 earthquake at sea.
According to US monitors, the earthquake struck 169km north-east of Gisborne at 15.37pm, 4.37pm, a depth of 30km.
CNN adds that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a Pacific-wide warning, but a "very small" tsunami hit the northern coast of New Zealand.
News reports add that although no injuries have been reported yet, the quake was powerful enough to wake up residents in Auckland, hundreds of kilometers away from the epicentre.
