There are reports this morning of a powerful earthquake hitting New Zealand.
The seismic activity, measuring 7.4 on the Richter Scale, hit 46km from the town of Amberley and 70km from the town of Kaiapoi. The quake struck at a shallow depth of 5 km.
The area was previously hit by a 6.3 earthquake back in 2011.
There are no reports of fatalities, but local authorities have issued an orange tsunami alert.