USGS: Magnitude 6.2 - OFF WEST COAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.- 146.7 mi deep - Recorded at 7 by GeoNet

[Shiloh]

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usb000awz5.php

Magnitude 6.2 - OFF WEST COAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.
2012 July 03 10:36:16 UTC
Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 6.2
Date-Time

Tuesday, July 03, 2012 at 10:36:16 UTC
Tuesday, July 03, 2012 at 10:36:16 PM at epicenter

Location 39.963?S, 173.705?E
Depth 236.1 km (146.7 miles)
Region OFF WEST COAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.
Distances

105 km (65 miles) SSW (198?) from New Plymouth, New Zealand
168 km (104 miles) WNW (284?) from Palmerston North, New Zealand
173 km (107 miles) NNW (328?) from WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.5 km (8.4 miles); depth +/- 3.5 km (2.2 miles)
Parameters NST=135, Nph=142, Dmin=171.4 km, Rmss=1.26 sec, Gp= 40?,
M-type=regional moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source

Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

Event ID usb000awz5

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Magnitude 6.2 - OFF WEST COAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.- 146.7 mi deep

Re: Magnitude 6.2 - OFF WEST COAST OF THE NORTH ISLAND, N.Z.- 146.7 mi deep

Jul 4 2012 - Deep 7.0 shakes central New Zealand

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred at depth late yesterday evening at 10:36 pm, and was felt widely throughout central New Zealand.

The earthquake's epicentre was 60 km south of Opunake in Taranaki, about one-third of the way to the top of the South Island. No tsunami was expected to have been generated from a quake this deep.

This is the biggest earthquake in the region since a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on March 15 2005. As is typical with deep North Island quakes, the strongest shaking occurs to the east of the epicentre, not directly above it. With a depth of 230 km everyone on the surface is already at 230 km or a greater distance away from the earthquake's focus, so the ability for it to have caused major damage is lessened. The Stuff website reports some chimney damage in Waverley and minor goods from shelves in Wellington.

One aftershock of magnitude 4.6 popped off about ten minutes later, but we do not expect many aftershocks from earthquakes of this nature.
Large, deep earthquakes are felt over a wide area but fortunately do not cause the damage we see when they occur at shallow depths, such as the September 2010 Darfield earthquake of a similar magnitude.


Nevertheless a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs in the New Zealand region, on average, once every three years, so last night's shake is certainly newsworthy! In terms of quakes of similar size and characteristics, it joins two other notable deep quakes since 1950:

• Tuesday, September 29 1953, magnitude 7.2, depth 273 km, 30 km east of Tauranga
• Saturday, January 6 1973, magnitude 7.0, depth 163 km, 20 km south of Taumarunui

More...
http://www.geonet.org.nz/news/archives/2012/jul-4-2012-deep-7-shakes-central-new-zealand.html

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Recent New Zealand Earthquakes


This is a list of the latest thirty New Zealand earthquakes.

Reference Number: 3733579
NZST: Thu, Jul 5 2012 10:55 am
Magnitude: 3.8
Depth: 15 km
Details: 30 km north of Hanmer Springs

Reference Number: 3733081
NZST: Wed, Jul 4 2012 11:11 am
Magnitude: 3.4
Depth: 110 km
Details: 40 km west of Nelson

Reference Number: 3732832
NZST: Tue, Jul 3 2012 11:07 pm
Magnitude: 3.9
Depth: 9 km
Details: 20 km east of Christchurch

Reference Number: 3732834
NZST: Tue, Jul 3 2012 10:45 pm
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 230 km
Details: 70 km south of Opunake

Reference Number: 3732830
NZST: Tue, Jul 3 2012 10:36 pm
Magnitude: 7.0
Depth: 230 km
Details: 60 km south of Opunake


More...
http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html