Moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake shakes Christchurch
October 10th, 2011 - 5:40 am ICT by BNO NewsCHRISTCHURCH (BNO NEWS) — A moderate earthquake struck near the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Sunday evening, seismologists said. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the region since June.
The 5.5-magnitude earthquake at 8.34 p.m. local time (0734 GMT) was centered about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) northeast of Diamond Harbour, a small settlement on Banks Peninsula in Canterbury, or 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) east of Christchurch. It struck about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GeoNet), the country’s seismological agency.
The moderate earthquake was widely felt along the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand, especially in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region. But there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the area, which has been devastated by a series of powerful earthquakes in the past year.
Sunday’s earthquake was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since June 13 when a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Christchurch, injuring 46 people. It followed a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on February 22 near Christchurch, killing 181 people and injuring more than 1,500 others.
The earthquake in February was the country’s deadliest disaster since a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Hawke’s Bay region on February 3, 1931, killing at least 256 people and injuring thousands more.
- Strong earthquakes strike off northeastern New Zealand - Nov 18, 2011
- Strong, deep earthquake hits off northern New Zealand - Sep 29, 2010
- Strong earthquake strikes off Mexico's Pacific coast, no damage - May 02, 2012
- Major quake devastates New Zealand's Christchurch, at least 65 dead - Feb 22, 2011
- Strong earthquake hits deep underneath northern Argentina - May 29, 2012
- Strong earthquake hits northern Chile, no damage - Dec 09, 2011
- Two strong earthquakes shake Mexican desert in Baja California - Apr 12, 2012
- Damage reported after moderate earthquake rattles southern Iran - Jan 05, 2011
- Strong earthquake rocks southeastern Iran, casualties unknown - Dec 21, 2010
- Strong quake hits deep underneath the South Pacific Ocean - Dec 28, 2010
- Strong earthquake strikes off eastern Indonesia, causing panic - Nov 14, 2011
- Moderate earthquake rattles western Germany - Feb 14, 2011
- Strong aftershock shakes southwestern Mexico, no casualties - Apr 03, 2012
- Strong earthquake strikes central Australia, no damage - Mar 24, 2012
- Moderate earthquake rocks Spain, at least 7 dead - May 12, 2011
Tags: banks peninsula, canterbury region, casualties, deadliest disaster, diamond harbour, february 22, hawke, kilometers, local time, magnitude earthquake, moderate earthquake, new zealand city, nuclear sciences, powerful earthquakes, seismologists, shallow earthquake, strongest earthquake, sunday evening