Quake pushes New Zealand island closer to Australia

Wellington: An Earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale on Wednesday pushed the South Island of New Zealand closer to Australia, scientists said.

The epicentre of the quake was located at the Fiordland region of South Island.

It was the strongest earthquake to hit New Zealand in 78 years. Officials, however, did not reveal the exact time of the quake.

Experts said the powerful quake has changed the shape of the island and pushed it towards Australia.

According to New Zealand-GeoNet global positioning system, the Fiordland town of Te Anau is now 10 cm closer to Australia, Bluff by three centimeter, Alexandra by two centimeter and Dunedin by one centimeter.

The South Island's southwest tip, Puysegur Point, is 30 cm closer.

Scientists said the South Island would gradually move back to its earlier position before the quake, but that process will take hundreds of years.