HONG KONG, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted 40 km SW of Kaikoura, New Zealand 14:22:56 GMT on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 9.36 km, was initially determined to be at 42.6222 degrees south latitude and 173.2887 degrees east longitude.