Sharp quake north-west of Wanaka – Geonet

Details

• At the shallow depth of 5km, this classes the earthquake as severe. Due to the distance from populated centres, it is not expected to be greatly damaging.
• The magnitude was reviewed from 6.0 to 5.8 upon reception and analysis of data from more remote stations throughout New Zealand.

Felt reports

It has been felt all over the bottom half of the South Island. Reports of strong shaking have come in from Queenstown, Dunedin, Cromwell, Invercargill, and of course Wanaka.

Geological setting

There are no active faults in this part of New Zealand. It is unlikely to have ruptured the surface.

Aftershock behaviour

The most likely prognosis is that there will be a number of smaller aftershocks less than magnitude 5.0, continuiing to decrease in size and frequency over the coming days. Last update 3:30pm on 4 May 2015