4.8 magnitude earthquake shakes New Zealand

New Zealanders have reported over 500 earthquake hits on Thursday morning when the nation was shook by a magnitude 4.8 earthquake. The earthquake struck southern New Plymouth situated in Taranaki, 20 km north of Opunake, on the western coast of New Zealand’s North Island at around 9:00 a.m.

According to the reports published on the GeoNet website, the earthquake was 18 km deep, same as the distance from Wellington to Nelson. After ten minutes, another quake of 2.6 magnitude on the richter scale hit New Zealand’s region 15 kms away from Opunake with a depth of 17 km.

The first strike had a severe effect, ranging from as far north as Hamilton to as far east as Hawkes Bay, and south in Blenheim. GeoNet scientist Caroline Little said that the strike was strong enough to make its presence felt even by people living a significant distance from the hit area.

“I think it took about 12 minutes to get over 1,000 felt reports and they were from all over the North Island, or at least right through the centre of New Zealand,” she told Stuff.

Little also said that the people of Opunake are not used to such strikes as earthquake hits are not common in the region, although “they definitely get their fair share.” Social media updates did not indicate any severe damages caused due to the natural calamity. The central region fire service communications also said that they did not receive any calls for help after the earthquake occurred.

Rahotu, situated 5 km away from the earthquake’s epicentre, also felt the earth tremble severely. Rahotu School secretary Leanne Wiringi said that though the start was shaky with “a massive big rumble” in the morning, they started their schedule as planned. She said that the school had undergone the Shake Out earthquake reaction exercise last week, which coincidentally prepared the students to cope well with the earthquake.

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