Earthquake rocks South Island

1.00pm UPDATE

An earthquake centred off the south-west coast of the South Island this morning was felt as far away as Hamilton.

The 7.2 quake hit at 9.26am and was centred 240 km southwest of Te Anau, at a depth of 33km, said Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS).

The slow rolling motion was felt all the way up the South Island, in New Plymouth and in Hamilton, where staff at law firm Harkness Henry reported feeling two tremors.

Clare Ryan said the quakes lasted about 30 or 40 seconds altogether.

"Everything was swaying - the blinds were hitting the windows and wall hangings were moving around. The actual building movement was quite a subtle motion, kind of like being on a boat but enough to make you feel dizzy or ill."

In Stewart Island the quake was felt sharply at the Church Hill Cafe where the office computer "rocked and rolled" across the desk.

Both tremors were also felt at the In A Pickle Cafe in Invercargill but one staff member, Nicky, said the quake was "nowhere near the shake" of last August that was centred near Te Anau with a much shallower epicentre.

That quake measure 7.1 on the Richter Scale and caused widespread, but relatively minor, damage.

GNS seismologist Peter McGinty said today's quake was a "moderate to deep" quake, but would not cause too many problems because it was so far offshore.

"We would expect very minor damage," Mr McGinty said.

The quake would have been felt widely throught the South Island, and in the North Island as far north as New Plymouth which was on the same fault line, he said.

Offshore quakes were difficult to pinpoint, but its likely epicentre was about 60km off the coast of Invercargill.

The GNS had received no reports of damage this morning.

Southland District Civil Defence officer Tom Shaw said there were no immediate reports of personal injury or significant damage.

The district's Civil Defence organisation has not been activated, but staff were on standby while damage assessments were made.

Council engineers were assessing any damage to water or sewerage systems and the district's roads, he said in a statement.

Reports from council staff around Southland indicated the quake was felt strongly throughout the district, including Stewart Island.

Items are reported to have fallen from shelves in Te Anau and Dipton, 60km north of Invercargill.

In Queenstown the earthquake gave police surveillance cameras a shake up, Detective Grant Miller told NZPA.

"It was like a wind coming through, computer screens started to jolt, things rattled. It was a strong one."

With Queenstown having been doused by heavy rain lately, he feared the quake could cause minor earthfalls.

So far there had been no reports of that happening, he said.

Mr Miller had been told the quake - which he said lasted about five seconds - was not as severe as the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted the lower South Island last August.

That quake was centred about 70km northwest of Te Anau was about 12km deep.

A Bluff police spokesman said a "mild" quake was felt in the town but police had no reports of damages or injury.

- HERALD STAFF and NZPA

GeoNet report

Universal Time: November 22 2004 at 20:26

NZ Daylight Time: Tuesday, November 23 2004 at 9:26 am

Latitude, Longitude: 46.57°S, 165.08°E

Focal Depth: 33 km

Richter Magnitude: 7.2


200 km north-west of Snares Islands

210 km west of Tuatapere

240 km south-west of Te Anau

250 km west of Invercargill

420 km west of Dunedin


Felt widely throughout the South Island.