New Zealand hit with tsunami caused by powerful earthquake

Hotel guests in New Zealand huddle outside after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake — (Image credit: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook New Zealand north of Christchurch Sunday morning, leaving little direct damage there or in the capital city of Wellington. But tsunami waves caused by the quake began arriving about two hours later. Officials warned New Zealanders they should get to higher ground away from the ocean in case the waves — initially measuring about six feet — become larger and more dangerous.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.