Earthquake shakes South Island
Posted by
JAC on 7/15/2009, 6:56 am
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10584718&ref=rss
A huge earthquake has rocked parts of the South Island.
People ran from restaurants in Queenstown as buildings shook, and lights and phone lines went down.
GNS last night recorded it as a 6.6 magnitude quake off the coast of the west coast of the South Island some 170km from Invercargill. Overseas monitors put the magnitude as high as 7.8.
It was felt across the South Island.
Wanaka resident Simon Darby said a rumbling feeling in the ground forced him to run outside of his house.
"It must have lasted about two and half minutes. I lived in Tokyo for three years so I know what large quakes are like. Even though we are maybe 400km from the epicentre this was easily the longest and biggest I have ever felt.
"It wasn't very violent, more of a rolling feel. But it had a power about it - I ran straight outside into the carpark."
There are between 10,000 and 15,000 earthquakes in and around New Zealand each year. Most are small, but between 100 and 150 are big enough to be felt, according to GNS Science.
The biggest known quake in New Zealand was the magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa earthquake of 1855.
The biggest New Zealand earthquake since instrumental recording began was the 1931 magnitude 7.8 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
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In this thread:
Huge 7.8 Quake off New Zealand -
JAC,
7/15/2009, 6:35 am- South Island 12 inches Closer to Aussie now... - Anung Mwka, 7/22/2009, 6:30 pm
- Re: Huge 7.8 Quake off New Zealand - Chris in Tampa, 7/15/2009, 5:01 pm
- New Zealand Tsunami Warning Dropped After Magnitude-7.8 Quake - JAC, 7/15/2009, 8:59 am
- Seismographs all over the world went nuts - here's Albuquerque, New Mexico - JAC, 7/15/2009, 7:27 am
- Earthquake shakes South Island - JAC, 7/15/2009, 6:56 am
- DARTS are picking up the Tsunami - JAC, 7/15/2009, 6:53 am
- New Zealand Tsunami Warning Points - JAC, 7/15/2009, 6:51 am
- Tsunami Advisory for HI - JAC, 7/15/2009, 6:48 am
- Tsunami Warning SE Australia - JAC, 7/15/2009, 6:45 am
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