Earthquake strikes Pacific Ocean near New Zealand
The magnitude 6.3 earthquake was the third reported near the country since the start of August.
A pet camera in Kumamoto, Japan, showed this cat apparently sensing an earthquake and fleeing just a second before objects started falling where it had just been lying.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the western Pacific Ocean near New Zealand on Wednesday, the third earthquake near the country so far this month.
The latest earthquake occurred around 7:43 p.m. local time on Wednesday, about 300 miles northeast of the country, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was a deep earthquake, with the epicenter located 140 miles (226 km) beneath Earth's surface, and there was no threat of a tsunami.
Shaking was felt in northern New Zealand, but no major damage or injuries were reported.
The tremor occurred nearly one hour after a magnitude 5.2 earthquake south of the country, but it was smaller and farther from land, so no shaking was reported.
On Sunday, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook New Zealand. Its epicenter was over land about 200 miles (321 km) east-southeast of Auckland.
New Zealand sits near the boundary of two tectonic plates, where earthquakes frequently occur. Over the past 30 days, around 100 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater have been reported between New Zealand and Samoa. Wednesday's magnitude 6.3 was the strongest in the region.
The region is also part of the "Ring of Fire," a nickname for the geologically active regions around the rim of the Pacific Ocean.
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