A destructive tsunami may be striking an area from Wellington New Zealand of the north island to Christchurch on the south island right now. A M7.8 earthquake moved a large slab of sea floor between the south and north islands. The natural bay around Wellington could focus the tsunami creating destruction in the coastal areas near Wellington.
If large landslides occurred underwater the tsunami could be larger than expected. This tsunami will be nothing close to the horrific tsunamis in Japan and Indonesia caused by M 9 range earthquakes but it could cause local destruction.
The “beach ball” shows that the earthquake involved a combination of strike slip movement, like the San Andreas fault, and compression, like the Japan earthquake. Oblique slip earthquakes, like this one are capable of creating tsunamis when they move the bottom of the sea floor or trigger undersea landslides.
The earthquake struck just after midnight local time so there is no way to determine the number of deaths or the extent of the damage at this time. Local tsunami heights as high as 5m (16.5 feet) were possible according to local authorities.
An earthquake of this magnitude normally has many aftershocks and this quake is no exception. However, in this region of the world, it is not out of the question that an even larger quake could follow. People in this region will be feeling very insecure over the next few weeks as the ground keeps on shaking.
The M 6.3 Christchurch earthquake in 2011 that killed 175 people was preceded by a smaller earthquake on a different fault. The deadly quake was shockingly destructive because it literally shifted the ground under Christchurch. Fortunately, this M7.8 earthquake did not cause significant fault offset under a major city. However, it appears that seismic activity will continue at an elevated level in New Zealand as the tectonic adjustments continue. There may be a possible northwards propagation of seismic activity, so people living on the north island should remain alert.