Milford Sound

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has rocked New Zealand, according to GeoNet.

The quake struck just after 10.30pm local time 20km north-west of Milford Sound, on the country’s South Island.

More than 6,800 people have reported that they felt the earthquake online.

The earthquake is believed to be 12 kilometres in depth, and was initially reported as a 5.5-magnitude but has since been revised.

Smaller earthquakes have been felt in the 40 minutes since the strong one hit the country.

This includes a ‘light’ earthquake of a 3.7-magnitude and seven smaller ones – the smallest of which was 2.9-magnitude.

‘Thought the windows were going to explode!’ 4.1-magnitude…

One social media user said they felt the effects of the earthquake in Dunedin, which is on the other side of the South Island.

‘Just felt the Milford Sound earthquake in Dunedin tonight,’ they tweeted.

‘Slight swaying of the property I’m in. As a Briton here on holiday, I’ve never experienced this before. Hope everyone in the Fiordland area is safe.’

Another wrote: ‘Nothing like a good strong earthquake just when you’re about to head to bed.’

The earthquake was the same magnitude that devastated Christchurch in 2011, leading to 185 deaths.

No reports of injuries or damage have been made yet.

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