The Hawke’s Bay area has experienced several earthquakes in recent weeks, with 20 events being reported since January.
In January, a cluster of 3 earthquakes ranging between magnitude 3.6 and 4.4 struck at depths between 20 km and 50 km between Havelock North and Waipukurau.
During February, two earthquakes struck the area. The first occurred on the 21st at a depth of 30 km at a location 20 km south-west of Hastings. This magnitude 4.0 event was followed by a 42 km deep, magnitude 3.2 event located 10 km south of Waipawa three days later.
During March, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 30 km south of Hastings at a depth of 50 km on the 14th.
On April 18th, a 40 km deep magnitude 3.8 quake located 10 km east of Waipukurau was felt in Taradale and Twyford.
A cluster of 3 events struck the area during the latter part of May. The first event was a 30 km deep magnitude 4.1 event located 10 km east of Waipawa on May 20th. It was felt at Hastings, Poukawa and Waipukurau. On the 28th, a 12 km deep magnitude 3.1 quake located 10 km west of Napier was felt in Napier and Hastings. The following day, a 20 km deep magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck at a location 20 km south-east of Hastings. Both events were felt at many locations in the Hawke’s Bay area.
During June, earthquake activity was recorded further south near Pongaroa and Porangahau until a magnitude 3.0 quake at a depth of 25 km struck 10 km south-east of Napier on the 21st. This event was felt in Taradale.
Two of the three earthquakes felt in Hawke’s Bay during July were located in the northern part of the bay. They were a magnitude 5.4, 30 km deep event 40 km north of Napier on the 8th and a magnitude 4.4, 50 km deep quake located 30 km south-east of Nuhaka on the 22nd. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake located within 5 km of Hastings at a depth of 35 km on the 21st was felt in both Hastings and Napier.
On August 4th, a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 20 km south-east of Hastings at a depth of 50 km. This event was felt in Hastings, Napier and nearby locations.
Three earthquakes were felt in Hawke’s Bay in quick succession late in the afternoon of Sunday 20th of August. The first, a magnitude 3.5 event, struck at 5:15 p.m. and was followed 5 minutes later by a magnitude 3.7 event. Fourteen minutes later, at 5:34 p.m., another 3.7 earthquake was felt. All three were located 20 km south-east of Hastings at a depth of 40 km.
A magnitude 3.7 earthquake at a depth of 50 km struck 10 km south of Hastings on the afternoon of August 24th. Since then, a magnitude 3.7 quake has struck further south on August 28th. This event, at a depth of 50 km, was located 60 km south of Hastings.
During 2005, a series of 9 earthquake events occurred near Napier and Hastings between July 18th and October 25th. The earthquakes occurred at depths between 7 and 60 km, with magnitudes ranging between 3.3 and 4.2.
A year earlier, a cluster of 5 earthquakes were reported in the area between September 17th and 26th, 2004. The largest earthquake had a magnitude of 4.2.