Strong earthquake rattles New Zealand’s East Coast

WELLINGTO. KAZINFORM - New Zealand on Tuesday was shaken by a strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake near Gisborne on the east coast of the country's North Island, reported the German Press Agency, dpa.

The shallow quake struck just before 1 pm (00:00 GMT), according to information from national geological hazard monitoring system Geonet, WAM reports.

The jolt was felt in Whakatane, 180 kilometres south of Gisborne, the closest city to offshore volcano White Island which erupted on Monday killing at least five people. Another eight were still missing and presumed dead.

GeoNet said the earthquake was unrelated to the eruption at White Island.