5.9 Quake Hits During Interview, Ardern Carries on

'Quite a decent shake here'
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2020 7:21 AM CDT

If starting your Monday off giving an interview in the middle of a pandemic seemed too easy for Jacinda Ardern, fate decided to throw in a little natural disaster: As Mashable reports, the New Zealand PM was speaking live from the parliament building in Wellington when a 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit—and she didn't miss a beat. "Quite a decent shake here, but if you see things moving behind me, the Beehive moves more than most," Ardern said, referring to the parliament building. After the shaking stopped, she assured her interviewer "we're fine. I'm not under any hanging lights, I look like I'm in a structurally sound place." Per the Guardian, she later told reporters her first thought was, "are you serious?" (More Jacinda Ardern stories.)

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