Double tectonic shifts may have teamed in New Zealand quake - experts

Local residents Chris and Viv Young look at damage caused by an earthquake, along State Highway One near the town of Ward, south of Blenheim on New Zealand's South Island, November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Anthony Phelps

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The powerful earthquake that struck New Zealand was unusual in that a big event on one fault may have immediately triggered a big event on a second fault, experts said on Monday.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 pummelled central New Zealand at 12.02 a.m., killing at least two people, damaging roads and buildings and setting off hundreds of strong aftershocks.