A pair of 4th magnitude shallow earthquakes struck near East Cape, north of Gisborne, within two minutes of each other yesterday.
The first earthquake struck 30 km east of Ruatoria and Tikitiki at 3:28 p.m. on Saturday 20th January 2006. The magnitude 4.2 quake was 12 km deep. Two minutes later, a magnitude 4.3 quake struck close by at the same depth.
The first quake was felt lightly at Ruatoria according to Geonet.
During 2006, seven shallow earthquakes struck this area near East Cape. They were:
Tuesday 10th January 2006, 8:21 p.m., mag 3.7, 10 km deep, 20 km south of Ruatoria
Tuesday, 14th February 2006, 8:35 a.m., mag 4.4, 20 km deep, 20 km east of Tikitiki
Friday, 24th March 2006, 00:27 a.m., mag 4.3, 25 km deep, 20 km south of Ruatoria
Monday 31st July 2006, 8:49 p.m., mag 4.1, 12 km deep, 100 km east of Te Araroa
Wednesday, 30th August 2006, 8:16 p.m., mag 3.9, 30 km deep, 20 km south of Ruatoria
Wednesday 15th November 2006, 8:58 am, mag 4.9, 25 km deep, 60 km NE of Tikitiki
Wednesday 29th November 2006, 1:49 p.m., mag 3.9, 12 km deep, 30 km east of Ruatoria
Earthquakes also struck further south near Tolaga Bay.
In 2005, a swarm of three earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.8 and 5.0 struck to the east of Tokomaru Bay between May 3rd and 15th.