6.1 magnitude earthquake jolts New Zealand's Paraparaumu

The earthquake was reported at around 7:38 pm New Zealand Daylight Time at a depth of 57.4 kilometres from 50 km northwest of Paraparaumu in New Zealand on Wednesday.

Paraparaumu (New Zealand): An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted Paraparaumu of New Zealand on Wednesday at 7:38 pm New Zealand Daylight Time (NZDT). The 57.4 kilometres-deep quake occurred 50 km northwest of Paraparaumu with its intensity strong close to the quake.

The quake was felt in Paraparaumu, Levin, Wellington, Whanganui, Waverley, Palmerston North, Martinborough, Hunterville, Hawera, Blenheim, Seddon, Nelson, Dannevirke, Pongaroa, Porirua, French Pass, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Stratford, Opunake, Feilding, Picton, Eketahuna, Masterton, Taihape, Castlepoint, Motueka, Ohakune and surrounding localities.

This comes after Cyclone Gabrielle wreaked havoc in the island nation on Tuesday. The country declared a national state of emergency following the storm that killed three. The cyclone had pushed the country in declaring an emergency, only the third in New Zealand's history.

Talking about the cyclone, the New Zealand authorities warned that though the worst of the storm had passed, the country was not out of danger. Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty, during the rescue operation, informed that one body was found at the site where a firefighter went missing during the storm, while the remains of two others were recovered from the Hawke's Bay region.

Defence Force and private operators were pressed into rescue operations carried out in Hawke's Bay, where floodwaters rose up to rooftops leading to the death of two people. 11 army trucks were sent to Hastings Sports Centres, Hawke's Bay on inputs of about 9000 people being displaced. (with Agency inputs)