NZ south Island hit by earthquake

[belleyetere]

I have just read on yahoo news page that New Zealand's south Island has been hit by a eartquake. They have also given a sunami warning.
Just hope there are no major losses and Hayleys family are safe.
Robert

[grant]

Hello everyone

Here is the full story on the New Zealand earthquake

Tsunami warning follows New Zealand quake


A tsunami warning has been triggered after an earthquake hit New Zealand's South Island.

There was minor damage as a result of the quake, which scientists from the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences and separately the Japanese meteorological agency put at between 6.6 and 7.8 on the Richter scale.

It was centred in the remote and unpopulated Fiordland region, about 150km (95 miles) northest of the country's most southern city, Invercargill, and widely felt throughout the lower South Island.

Because of the quake's size, local civil defence officials issued a warning about a "potential tsunami".

In a statement the national civil defence centre said: "We've had big differences in the measurements of the quake, ranging from 6.6 by GNS Science, to 8.2 by a tsunami warning centre in Hawaii. We're issuing a precautionary message."

"It was quite a large motion, the whole house was moving, the door was moving in the doorframe, and the fence posts were moving," Invercargill resident Simon Wilson told Radio New Zealand.

New Zealand scientists record around 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which around 20 top 5.0 on the Richter scale.

The last fatal earthquake in the geologically active country, caught between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates, was in 1968 when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale killed three people on the South Island's West Coast.

It doesn't appear to have caused any major problems and everyone appears to be safe.

This may have woken Hayley though!

Strong undersea quake hits Taiwan: seismology centre

An undersea earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale rocked Taiwan's buildings early Tuesday, shaking people from bed, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage

The quake hit at 2:05 am (1805 GMT Monday), causing buildings to sway in most parts of the island, the Taiwanese Seismology Centre said.

It put the quake's epicentre at 57 kilometres (34 miles) east of Hsiulin, a town in the east of the island, with a depth of 9.4 kilometres under the sea.

It issued no immediate tsunami alert.

The United States Geological Survey put the quake's epicentre 137 kilometres south-southeast of the capital Taipei.

Best wishes
Grant

[petertong]

Hi Grant,

My sister is back in Taiwan visiting and was on the 7th floor when that quake hit... building swayed back and forth a bit too much for her liking but her kids slept through it all i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Having grown up in Taiwan though... quakes of 5.x on the richter scale are pretty normal... 6.x not that uncommon... there was one I think in the 7.x range back in 1987 that caused very severe damage... those are the kind to watch out for. The 6.x stuff is not too big of a deal

blessings,
Peter

[Jono]

Interesting how it got to Australia, but I didn't feel it here in Auckland... Although someone mentioned they may have slightly felt it here..hmm

[Ross]

I was sitting on my bed watching TV (and voting for Hayley) when I felt the bed go up and down and my mirror shook a bit. But bit wasn't a very big earthquake in Christchurch. Most people probably didn't even notice it.

[Jono]

I heard it was 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Per the article that Grant shared that is the top of the range.

Lucky the epicenter was way down at the bottom of the South Island, which is virtually uninhabited...If it had hit in Wellington or Auckland, or anywhere else with major infrastructure it would have been devastating.

Here is an interesting NZ Herald ARTICLE

I think I was wrong earlier about Australia feeling the earthquakes, they "felt the effects" of the earthquakes. One of those deceptive media headlines...