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A warning of the danger of aftershocks was issued after a strong earthquake hit New Zealand’s South Island this morning.
The magnitude 6.0 quake struck just before 7am local time near Arthur’s Pass, about 63 miles west of Christchurch.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Almost 3,000 people reported feeling the quake in Christchurch.
It was one of the strongest quakes in the country since the city was devastated in 2011 when 185 people were killed, the BBC reported.
New Zealand natural hazard monitoring service GeoNet classed Tuesday morning’s quake as “severe” and occuring at a depth of 5km.
It said more than 30 aftershocks measuring up to 4.2 were experienced within four hours and warned of more to come.
“In typical aftershock sequences, we can expect the largest aftershock to be up to magnitude 5.0,” it said.
Seismologists said it could have been generated by a previously unknown faultline, but John Ristau of GeoNet told the New Zealand Herald that Arthur’s Pass had experienced quakes of similar size in the past century.