[anita]

Hi there
Did anyone feel the earthquake last night at approx 0400? :eek
We did not know what is was because our house didn't shake it was just noisy.
Apparantly alot of peoples houses were shaken,especially those on stilts!
No damage anywhere here in Nelson though. :hopeso

[heimatseeker]

Yes, it woke us up, and our building was swaying back and forth for what seemed an eternity (we're on the 6th floor). It was quite scary, but it was comparatively gentle for a 6.4, not jerky, so everything stayed in place.

[sarahw]

Yep it woke us too - wasn't a very long one compared with some of them we had in January but enough to shake us awake & set my heart pounding ready to dive off the bed & under a doorway!- you're right - its a strange noise.

It was our first quake in our rental house (which is a bungalow - wooden with iron roof on flat ground) must say I felt much safer in there than on the 2nd floor of a motel where we were when we experienced quite a large one in January! I felt a few aftershocks too after the quake this morning.

[Bubbles]

14.03.05 10.45am UPDATE


An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale shook the North Island and parts of the upper South Island early today.

The strong quake was centred off the coast of Taranaki in the Tasman Sea, 160km northwest of Wellington at a depth of 150km.

Geological and Nuclear Science duty seismologist Peter McGinty said the tremor hit at 4.08am.

Its proximity in the South Taranaki Bight meant the quake was felt in many parts of both islands -- from Wanganui and as far south as Christchurch.

"This was to do with the plate boundary," he told NZPA.

"At that depth it's just part of the normal process at the plate boundary."

The institute was not expecting any aftershocks and did not believe the tremor was a precursor to a massive earthquake. "We never know but it's unlikely."

New Plymouth and Wanganui police said by 6am no reports of damage had been received.

A spokesman for Wanganui police said the quake lasted more than 30 seconds but felt like a "gentle shake".

Nelson police said they had received no reports of damage and the quake had not been felt strongly.

However, Blenheim police said it had been "a strong jolt".

Emergency services said there had been a few reports of items falling off shelves.

It followed a minor tremor of 2.9, located 120km north of Dunedin yesterday at 8.19pm and was the biggest earthquake since November, when a tremor measuring 7.2 struck 240km off the Southland coast at a depth of 33km.

- NZPA

[Bubbles]

UPDATE


More earthquakes likely

14.03.05 1.00pm


The lower North Island could be in for more big shakes.

The earthquake which struck just after 4am this morning has been revised to a 6.4 magnitude.

It was centred 80 kilometres south of Opunake and was 150 kilometres deep.

Peter McGinty, a seismologist at the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, says it was felt across much of the lower North Island and as far south as Christchurch.

He says there has been a large spate of earthquakes in the lower North Island and people should prepare themselves for more, as the region has active tectonic plates.

There have been no reports of damage from this morning's shake.

[dave k]

No,. not as freaky as those Jan ones...but pretty shaky all the same.

One thing I've noticed about the quakes is that they're not like you see in movies & so on...the whole room/house "pulls" from side to side like it's at sea or something. Rather than the low rumble & things shaking off walls etc. ( although that did happen in Jan too!)

[Moorf]

Yep, felt it down here in Chch - the dog woke me minutes beforehand otherwise I think I'd have slept through it as was just like heavy truck going thru town.

They do say that animals can sense stuff.... I wonder....

[Hannah-NL]

What way did the dog wake you Moorf? Just wondering...
Have never experienced an earthquake, do they happen all over NZ ?

[Glenda]

[quote=
Have never experienced an earthquake, do they happen all over NZ ?[/quote]

Hi Hannah,

Looking at the map on http://www.geonet.org.nz/latest.html earthquakes happen over most of NZ, the least affected areas being Auckland, Northland and south of Dunedin.

I do think there have been a rather lot of earthquakes recently. I certainly cannot remember there being so many when I lived there. :?

[Tara Sage]

Yeap me to moorf!

The budgie woke us making so much noise, wondered what was going on, if it hadn't been for him I would of slept right through it.

[sarahw]

Funny Moorf I think there might be something in that! A couple of people I know said they woke a few minutes before the quake too (maybe they have canine senses!!!) :laugh

[Moorf]

Sarah - she was nuzzling my face with her nose and making very tiny whining noises....

Tara - interesting re the budgie too! Spooky!

[sarahw]

Ahhhh poor dog - how sweet!

[jocalla]

Kids at school were telling me that they woke up and felt the earthquake, and that was here in Rolleston???

Can't believe I slept through my first one :uhoh

Joanne

[Babette & Andy]

Here in the UK BBC1 showed a 2 part documentary / film on Sunday & Monday evening titled: 'Supervolcano's' (advertised as a true story that just hasn't happened yet . . .)

It was about Yellowstone Park in the US, the masive magma chamber underneath it, and the events that scientists predict may/are likely to happen in the future :no

It was amazing to watch, definately gave some food for thought. On Tuesday morning I then came across this thread . . . .
Let's hope things don't get too hairy in NZ or in the USA :hopeso

Suppose you 'get used to it' after experiencing a few quakes?

Babette