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25th May 2020

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s live TV interview interrupted by earthquake

Alan Loughnane

Jacinda Ardern

She remained very cool about the situation.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was being interviewed live on TV on Monday morning when the interview was interrupted by an earthquake.

Ardern was discussing the country’s lifting of coronavirus restrictions when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near the capital city of Wellington.

She was being interviewed in the executive government building, known as “the Beehive” for its distinctive shape, when it hit.

“We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here… quite a decent shake here. If you see things moving behind me,” she said.

Asked if she was okay to continue the interview, Ardern confirmed she felt safe to carry on.

“We’re fine Ryan, I’m not under any hanging lights, it looks like I’m in a structurally sound place.”

Looking around her, she said: “The Beehive moves a little more than most.”

The 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck about 90km north of the capital, Wellington, at 8am local time.

The earthquake was felt across the country but there are no reports of damage or injuries.

New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonically-active 40,000km arc which spans across the Pacific, and experiences many earthquakes.

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