A burst of light earthquake activity struck off the North Island’s eastern cape this evening.
Thursday 2nd August, 2012
Three undersea earthquakes struck off East Cape in quick succession this evening. The cluster of quakes follows a larger event which struck last night.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports that a magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 105 km north-east of Gisborne (156 km east of Whakatane) at 4:58 this evening. The undersea quake was 60 km deep.
Nineteeen minutes later a magnitude 4.8 quake, centred 267 km east-north-east of Gisborne (344 km east of Whakatane), occurred at a depth of 10 km according to the USGS. GeoNet reports this event as magnitude 5.2 at a depth of 56 km, centred 340 km north-east of Gisborne, 180 km east of Tikitiki and Te Araroa. Only 1 report of the quake being felt ashore has been filed from near Tauranga at the time this item was prepared.
Another magnitude 4.5 quake was reported by the USGS, this time at 5:38 p.m. This quake was centred 320 km north-north-east of Gisborne, 315 km north-east of Whakatane, at a depth of 110 km.
GeoNet's seismograph network on 2 August 2012
The traces of the three quakes show clearly on this image of GeoNet’s national seismograph network.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 371 km north-north-east of Gisborne (376 north-east of Whakatane) at 9:25 last night, Wednesday August 1st. This undersea quake was 48 km deep.
A magnitude 4.6 quake struck 202 km east-north-east of Gisborne at 7:19 p.m. on Thursday 26th of July.
[Compiled from data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and its contributing agencies; and the GeoNet project and its sponsors EQC, GNS Science and FRST.]