Thousands of people felt the quake in New Zealand with media reporting buildings swaying and items falling from shelves.

People in New Zealand were advised to stay away from the shore after an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.8 struck off the coast of South Island on Tuesday. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The tremor– initially recorded at a 7.0 magnitude– hit at 2:43 pm local time (0143 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) off the southwest tip of the country’s South Island