Dushanbe, 14.11.2016. /NIAT “Khovar”/. An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale jolted South Island of New Zealand in the wee hours of Monday, followed by over 50 aftershocks in many parts of North and South Islands amid a tsunami alert. No casualties have been reported so far, Xinhua reports.

A tsunami has been generated, according to the civil defense authority.

The quake has caused some damage in Wellington, the capital city across the Cook Strait in North Island.

Geonet revised the quake at a magnitude of 7.5 from 6.6 with a depth of 15 km near Culverden, a small town of some 400 residents, about 100 km northwest of Christchurch, the biggest city on South Island.

At least 50 aftershocks struck different parts of New Zealand, several as strong as over 6-magnitude. Residents found the quake a «long slow, rolling or almost rotating motion» while water in swimming pools was left sloshing around for a while.

According to Geonet, the epicenter was initially determined to be 20 km southeast of Hanmer Springs, a tourist town famous for hot springs, before Culverden was pinpointed as the extremely affected area.