Strong Quake Followed By Minor Tremor

Scoop Report: A strong earthquake centred off the coast of Taranaki and measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rocked the central/west North Island of New Zealand this morning. The strong quake was followed by a minor tremor at 5.52pm.

Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS) said the stronger quake was a normal shift in the plate boundary. There had been no reports of damage to police. GNS said it was not expecting any aftershocks and did not believe the tremor was a precursor to a major earthquake. The quake was felt throughout Taranaki in parts of both the North and South islands of New Zealand.

To follow: Information and graphs from Geological and Nuclear Science http://www.geonet.org.nz/.

Reference Number: 2376455/G
Universal Time: March 13 2005 at 15:08
NZ Daylight Time: Monday, March 14 2005 at 4:08 am
Latitude, Longitude: 40.17°S, 173.63°E
Focal Depth: 150 km
Richter Magnitude: 6.4

80 km south of Opunake
90 km south-west of Patea
90 km south-west of Hawera
160 km north-west of Wellington

Magnitude revised after reception of further data. Felt throughout central New Zealand.

The current earthquake (indicated by a star) is shown in the context of ten years of 'deep' (greater than 40 km) seismicity (indicated by coloured points). The inset shows a depth cross section of the seismicity and current earthquake, projected onto the plane W-E.

Reference Number: 2376700/G
Universal Time: March 14 2005 at 4:52
NZ Daylight Time: Monday, March 14 2005 at 5:52 pm
Latitude, Longitude: 39.02°S, 175.72°E
Focal Depth: 5 km
Richter Magnitude: 3.2

10 km west of Turangi
30 km east of Owhango
50 km south-west of Taupo
260 km south of Auckland

Probably felt in Turangi.

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