New Zealand Rattled By Another Alarming Earthquake

On Nov. 14, Monday, New Zealand was rattled by another natural disaster, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

According to BBC News, the earthquake hit just after midnight of Monday northeast of Christchurch. And it was felt as far afield as the capital of Wellington on the North Island, 120 miles away.

Based from its geographical location, New Zealand has been frequently visited by earthquakes. It is part of the prominent 'Ring of Fire,' a region known for its high seismic activity and damaging earthquakes. This borders the Pacific Plate, which also consists of numerous worlds' greatest seismic and volcanic spots including Chile, Peru, Japan, California and Indonesia.

The earthquake that a struck the New Zealand lays on the boundary of two major tectonic plates -- the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate. Times of Malta reported that the former is moving to the west at a few centimeters per year while colliding with the northward-moving Australian Plate. As these plates slowly drive against each other, subduction occurs -- a process where one of the plates is pulled under the other and is consumed into the Earth's interior. The interaction as these plates collide is responsible for much of New Zealand's geography, such as the formation of numerous volcanoes.

Meanwhile, causalities have been reported. According to the police, one person died in the town of Kaikoura eastern coast of New Zealand and another in Mount Lyford. However, the cause of their deaths has not been identified thoroughly yet.

The casualties were also compared by the government that fewer casualties happened today as compared to the 2011 6.3 earthquake that killed 185 people and wrecked the center of the city. The reason behind is the 2011 catastrophe had an enormous high-frequency of energy lasting only for few seconds, while the 2016 earthquake was deeper and radiated energy of a lower frequency.