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Agence France-Presse

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.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern caught on camera as 5.8 magnitude earthquake hits near the capital city of Wellington (no immediate damage reported) pic.twitter.com/5zq64ud0rb
— Peter Martinez (@rePetePro) May 24, 2020

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.
Rich Americans look to New Zealand for coronavirus escape plan
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.
As world limits exports, can New Zealand and Singapore keep trade open?
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


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

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: NZ Herald

The New Zealand government's Beehive building in Wellington. Photo: Facebook

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: AP

As the coronavirus-hit world limits exports, can New Zealand and Singapore keep trade open?

The World Trade Organisation says 80 countries have enacted some kind of restriction on the export of face masks, gloves and other medical supplies. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: A worker checks containers at a logistics center near Tianjin port, in Tianjin, China December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Yilei Sun/File Photo

epa08378941 A handout photo made available by the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (released 23 April 2020) shows essential goods, sent from New Zealand to Singapore being unloaded from an Air New Zealand plane, at the Changi Airport in Singapore, 22 April 2020. About twenty tonnes of beef and lamb were sent to Singapore from New Zealand following the launch of the Declaration on Trade in Essential Goods for Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic on 15 April 2020 between the two countries. EPA-EFE/MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

(200401) -- XIANGYANG, April 1, 2020 (Xinhua) -- A worker transports bananas at an agricultural products trade market in Xiangyang, central China's Hubei Province, April 1, 2020. Price and supply have been stable at the market amid coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Xie Jianfei/Xinhua)

Coronavirus: New Zealand has ‘won battle’ as undetected community transmission ends

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern briefs the media about the Covid-19 outbreak and how the country has eliminated widespread community transmission. Photo: AFP

New Zealand Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield briefs media about the COVIS-19 coronavirus at the Parliament House in Wellington on April 27, 2020. - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern claimed New Zealand had scored a significant victory against the spread of the coronavirus, as the country began a phased exit from lockdown. (Photo by Mark Mitchell / POOL / AFP)

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern briefs the media about the COVIS-19 coronavirus at the Parliament House in Wellington on April 27, 2020. - Ardern claimed New Zealand had scored a significant victory against the spread of the coronavirus, as the country began a phased exit from lockdown. (Photo by Mark Mitchell / POOL / AFP)

Coronavirus: rich Americans look to New Zealand for pandemic escape plan

A view of Auckland City from New Zealand’s Mount Eden. Photo: New Zealand Herald

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A view of Auckland city from Devonport. Photo: Shutterstock

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses a press conference after the 2020 budget at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, Thursday, May 14, 2020. New Zealand's government plans to borrow and spend vast amounts of money as it tries to keep unemployment below 10% in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. (Hagen Hopkins/Pool Photo via AP)

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters during his media conference at Parliament, Wellington, on Day 8 of the Covid-19 coronavirus level 3 alert lockdown. 05 May, 2020. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell NZH 06May20 -

Pedestrians in Wellington, New Zealand. Photo: AFP

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Monday’s magnitude 5.6 quake struck in the ocean about 100km northeast of Wellington, according to the US Geological Survey



Monday’s magnitude 5.6 quake struck in the ocean about 100km northeast of Wellington, according to the US Geological Survey.


Earthquakes

Natural disasters