A strong, shallow earthquake struck the southern Kermadec Islands just before 1 o’clock this afternoon.
Saturday 16th May 2009
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 10 km south of L’Esperance Rock at 12:54 this afternoon. The quake, which was 10 km deep according to preliminary analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey, was centred 270 km south-south-west of Raoul Island, 825 km north-east of Auckland.
Geoscience Australia also reports the quake as magnitude 6.7 but deeper at 33 km. They estimate the quake would have caused damage within 70 km of the epicentre, and would have been felt up to 900 km away.
New Zealand’s seismograph network showed that tremor from the earthquake registered in the Bay of Plenty, along the North Island’s eastern coast and at Wellington. GeoNet published a report on the event just after 2 p.m. reporting that it was felt in Gisborne and Wellington.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has not issued a bulletin for the event.
[Compiled from data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and Geoscience Australia and their contributing agencies.]