New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Calmly Continues Interview During Earthquake
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was completely unfazed when an earthquake began during the middle of a live television interview on Monday.
“We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan, quite a decent shake here,” she said to Newshub host Ryan Bridge. “But, um, if you see things moving behind me.”
Bridge then asked Ardern if she felt safe enough to continue the interview, adding that she was already making the news. Ardern confirmed that the shaking had stopped and urged him to continue.
“We’re fine, Ryan,” she said. “I’m not under any hanging lights, I look like I’m in a structurally sound place.”
New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a 24,900-mile arc of volcanoes and trenches along the Pacific ocean, and is nicknamed the “Shaky Isles” due to its frequent earthquakes.
Monday’s earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8 and was felt by almost 40,000 people across the country:
That was a sharp shake for a Monday morning, NZ! M5.8, centred 30 kilometres NW of Levin and 45 kilometres deep. We’ve registered nearly 37,000 felt reports from all over the country – from north of Auckland to Dunedin. Hope everyone’s OK! #eqnz https://t.co/HRXg8fQ2RZ pic.twitter.com/qgZFEL4SRW
— GeoNet (@geonet) May 24, 2020
Watch above, via Newshub.
