Strong Quake, Kermadec Islands

A strong undersea earthquake struck the Kermadec Islands this morning.

Sunday, 22nd May 2011

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 103 km north-east of L’Esperance Rock in the Kermadec Islands at 9:17 this morning. The undersea quake was centred 169 km south of Raoul Island (942 km north-east of Auckland) at a depth of 20 km according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Geoscience Australia reports the quake as magnitude 6.0 at a depth of 21 km. It estimates that the quake would have caused damage within 40 km of the epicentre and would have been felt up to 450 km away.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a bulletin for this event.

GeoNet’s seismograph network 22 May 2011

[click for larger image]  The shaking from the earthquake showed clearly on New Zealand’s seismograph network. GeoNet’s instruments show that MM3 shaking was recorded as far south as Wellington and in the Chatham Islands but no reports from the public have been made at this stage.

[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia and their contributing agencies.]

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