The east coast of Australia has been put on tsunami alert after a powerful undersea earthquake off the coast of New Zealand.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned that NSW, Tasmania and Victoria could be hit by waves following the 7.9 magnitude quake off New Zealand's South Island at 7.22pm.
A bureau spokesperson said no waves had yet been recorded, however an alert had been issued for large parts of Australia's east coast.
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Warning for Port Kembla; advice from the SES She said it remained a possibility waves could develop and hit Australia's coast.
"It's quite rare that this would happen. At the moment no waves have been recorded but an alert has been issued for NSW and large parts of the east coast,'' she said.
The BOM warned tsunami effects were expected at Port Kembla, Batemans Bay and Eden after 9.45pm.
Major evacuations in these areas were not required, however people were advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge of
harbours, coastal estuaries, rock platforms and beaches.
The epicentre of the earthquake was about 160km west of the city of Invercargill at a depth of 33 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey.
The earthquake was felt widely across the South Island, and there had been reports of minor cracks in buildings and stock falling from supermarket shelves.
There were no reports of serious damage or injuries.
One South Island resident, Simon Darby, told New Zealand's Herald newspaper the quake lasted about two-and-a-half minutes.
"I lived in Tokyo for three years so I know what large quakes are like. Even though we are maybe 400km from the epicentre this was easily the longest and biggest I have ever felt," he said.
"It wasn't very violent, more of a rolling feel. But it had a power about it - I ran straight outside into the car park."
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, based in Hawaii, also issued a warning.
"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicentre within minutes to hours'," the warning centre said.
The BOM urged anyone in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.
It also urged people to get out of the water and move away from the coast.
"People in areas with threat to land inundation and flooding are strongly advised by emergency authorities to go to higher ground or at least one kilometre inland,'' a BOM statement said.
"In areas with a threat to the marine environment only, emergency authorities advise people to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge of harbours, coastal estuaries, rock platforms and beaches.
"Tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves, with the first wave not necessarily being the largest."
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