-- Fourth Estate Cooperative Staff

Wellington, New Zealand (4E) - A magnitude 7 earthquake rattled New Zealand's North Island on Tuesday night. Police and fire stations received no reports of casualty and damage.

GNS Science said the quake's epicenter was 37 miles south of Opunake town in the Taranaki region or western coast of North Island and 105 miles northwest of the capital Wellington. The depth is 143 miles, which is too deep to trigger a tsunami but can be felt far. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning.

The tremor started at 10:36 p.m. and lasted 30 seconds. It was felt up to the South Island, including Christchurch, and up to the Bay of Plenty in the northern coast of the North Island. Christchurch was also hit by an earthquake in February 2011 that killed 185 people.

Weak aftershocks followed the earthquake.

Workers in Shell's offshore oil platforms in Taranaki felt the tremor. However, a routine post-quake inspection of the rigs found no damage, according to the oil company.

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