An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale was reported north of Te Anau on the South Island of New Zealand on Thursday evening, prompting a tsunami warning from authorities.

Earth Sciences New Zealand reported the strong quake at 9:14 p.m. local time with a depth of 51 km and seven other tremors with magnitudes between 3.3 and 4.3 in the area.

The National Emergency Management Agency first issued a tsunami warning but later downgraded it to an advisory, Radio New Zealand reported, noting the 6.3-magnitude quake had been revised down to 5.9.

xinhua