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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: AP

‘A decent shake’: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern carries on with TV interview during earthquake

  • Monday’s magnitude 5.6 quake struck in the ocean about 100km northeast of Wellington, according to the US Geological Survey
New Zealand
A moderate 5.6-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand’s North Island early Monday but failed to crack Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trademark composure as she conducted a live television interview.

Wellington and nearby areas were shaken by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake with the epicentre 30km northwest of Levin, a city close to the capital, and at a depth of 37km, according to Geonet.

St John Ambulance and New Zealand Police both said there were no initial reports of injuries or damage. There was no tsunami warning.

But there was sustained shaking in Wellington, where Ardern was being interviewed on breakfast television from parliament building called the Beehive, which is designed to absorb seismic forces by swaying slightly on its foundations.

“We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan,” Ardern told Auckland-based AM Show presenter Ryan Bridge, briefly looking concerned as she scanned the room around her.

“Quite a decent shake here, if you see things moving behind me,” she said, smiling, as she quickly regained her poise and continued the interview.

“It’s just stopped,” she said. “We’re fine, I’m not under any hanging lights, I look like I’m in a structurally sound place.”

While no injuries or damages were reported, the shaking that lasted for more than 30 seconds caused some panic in Wellington, with several people in offices and homes getting under their tables for cover.

“Felt as a long, strong shake in Wellington. That was not very much fun,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another person reported “quite the shake in Wairarapa”, east of Palmerston North. “I hope everyone else is OK,” he said on Twitter.

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New Zealand lies on the Pacific Basin “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide generating more than 15,000 earthquakes a year, although only 100-150 are strong enough to be felt.

Ardern canvassed the prospect of a major quake as New Zealand entered a six-week coronavirus lockdown in late March, saying it was always a possibility.

“In my mind constantly, as the prime minister of the ‘Shaky Isles’, is – no matter what’s going on in our lives – we must always be prepared for that,” she told reporters.

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The city of Christchurch in the South Island is still recovering from a magnitude 6.3 quake in 2011 that killed 185 people.

In 2016, a magnitude 7.8 tremor hit the South Island town of Kaikoura, killing two and causing billions of dollars worth of damage, including in the capital Wellington, which is in the North Island.

Meanwhile, Ardern on Monday announced that the limits on social gatherings would be increased from 10 to 100 on midday Friday, as the country relaxes measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Authorities will on June 8 reconsider the nation’s alert setting, now at Level 2, Ardern said, adding that a move to Level 1 would be decided by June 22.

Additional reporting by Reuters

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: NZ premier unshaken on camera as tremors hit
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