New Zealand shaken by quake swarm, no damage or tsunami threat

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude 6.6 struck off the east coast of New Zealand on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no threat of a tsunami. The earthquake struck 155 km (96 miles) east of the small settlement of Te Araroa, on the isolated east coast of New Zealand's North Island, at a depth of 92 km (57 miles), the country's seismology authority GNS Science said. Several aftershocks measuring between 6.2 and 6.5 were recorded at shallower depths. New Zealand civil defence authorities and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no danger of a tsunami. Police in the region said they had no reports of damage or casualties. Social media reports described the quakes as a rolling motion that rattled goods on shelves and left lights swaying. (Reporting by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Paul Tait)