A pair of fifth magnitude earthquakes occurred near the Kermadec Islands yesterday.
The two earthquakes, which struck within 5 hours of each other, were centred near an area which experienced a cluster of six earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.8 and 6.4 during December.
The first quake was located 150 km NE of L’Esperance Rock and struck at 2.16 p.m. NZDT on Thursday. It was magnitude 5.2 and 10 km deep according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The second earthquake was located 160 km NE of L’Esperance Rock and struck at 7.32 p.m. NZDT. USGS advise that it was magnitude 5.0 and 43 km deep.
The epicentres were about 125 km south of Raoul Island, or about 1000 km north-east of Auckland.