China News Service, February 21. According to Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, on February 21, local time, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurred near Blenheim, a small town on the South Island of New Zealand, with a focal depth of 30 kilometers.
An eyewitness said the tremor was felt in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, Reuters reported.
There have been no reports of casualties or damage.
The report pointed out that New Zealand is located at the junction of the Pacific plate and the Indian Ocean plate and is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire Volcanic Seismic Belt. Thousands of earthquakes occur every year, but most of them are small in magnitude and deadly volcanic eruptions are not common.
The Pacific Ring of Fire, also known as the "Ring of Fire", is home to more than 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes, where 90% of the Earth's earthquakes and 81% of the most intense earthquakes occur.
There are also a large number of volcanoes in New Zealand, most of which are distributed in the North Island.
Volcanic activity is common in the central North Island region, with a massive eruption at Mount Ruapehu in the North Island in the 1990s.