Wellington: A strong earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island on Wednesday night, shaking buildings and prompting authorities to briefly issue a tsunami warning before later cancelling it.

The earthquake, which was ultimately measured at magnitude 5.9, was centred about 40 kilometres north of Te Anau, the gateway to the popular Fiordland tourist region.

New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) initially assessed the quake at magnitude 6.3 and issued a tsunami warning, urging people in coastal areas to evacuate as a precaution.

However, the alert was later downgraded to an advisory after the earthquake’s magnitude was revised to 5.9. Authorities subsequently lifted the warning altogether after no tsunami signals were detected during two hours of monitoring.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage.

The earthquake struck at 9:14 p.m. local time and was widely felt across the South Island.

Local resident Maylene Puyat, duty manager at Fiordland Hotel in Te Anau, told Reuters the shaking lasted for about a minute.

“In the hotel, it’s shaking,” she said, describing the tremor as relatively strong.

Another resident told local media that the quake was “long and loud” and sounded “like a train”, adding that walls were visibly moving during the shaking.

According to New Zealand’s GeoNet monitoring system, more than 18,000 people reported feeling the earthquake.

New Zealand lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, one of the world’s most seismically active regions, and regularly experiences earthquakes of varying magnitudes.