Wellington - A powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 rocked New Zealand late on Thursday, ripping holes in streets and causing parts of buildings to collapse, officials said.
The quake off the North Island's east coast was felt across the country with Gisborne city reporting considerable damage. There were no immediate reports of serious injury.
"There were holes opening up in some streets, partial building collapses in some areas," a central police communications spokesperson said.
"We have got a lot of damage and are still assessing the situation," a police spokesperson from Gisborne said shortly after the quake.
Civil defence services had been activated and they were carrying out emergency plans.
"There have not been a lot of injuries reported yet but a contingency plan was being activated at the hospital."
The earthquake struck at 07:55 GMT and was at a depth of 40kn, the government seismology agency GNS Science said.
There have been numerous earthquakes in the New Zealand region recently, including a strong quake near the Auckland Islands on September 30.
New Zealand lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where colliding plates in the earth's crust cause frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
