‘Severe’ earthquake strikes northern New Zealand

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck New Zealand's North Island just before 4 p.m. local time on Monday. While there were no reports of injuries, the strong quake has apparently knocked down walls and chimneys, damaged roads and set off rock slides throughout the affected area.

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The quake, ranked as severe by the nation's geological hazard information system, GeoNet, struck between the communities of Palmerston North and Masterton, about 115 kilometres northeast of New Zealand's capital city of Wellington. Dozens of aftershocks have followed, some measuring up to magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale. According to the New Zealand Herald, GeoNet representative Sara Page said that "these will continue for some time as the region settles."

Power was knocked out in communities closest to the quake epicentre, due to downed transmission lines. Trans Metro, the local rail service, reported that all lines were suspended while tracks were checked for damage, but they resumed services as of Tuesday morning.

Staff and travellers at Wellington International Airport had a scare that no doubt gave them a few chuckles afterward. The shaking snapped cables holding up a 2-ton sculpture of an eagle that was hanging from the ceiling of the terminal, as a promotion for the movie The Hobbit, causing the large bird, with its 4.5-metre wing span, to swoop down on them. Fortunately, no one was injured.

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With the islands of New Zealand resting atop the fault line between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates, the nation experiences plenty of earthquakes. In fact, one magnitude 7 earthquake under Wellington went on last year for months, with no one feeling it!

However, unlike many of New Zealand's earthquakes, which tend to be more rolling, this one came on very suddenly and violently.

"It was certainly the biggest we've had since we've been here," Karen Monk, who lives on a farm in Mauriceville, just north of Masterton, told the New Zealand Herald.

"It was really sudden. Usually the earthquakes we feel up here, whether they're from north or south, they're more rolling and you start start with a gentle shake," she said.

"This one just came with a bang, with massive jolting.''

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