2023-04-26 00:04:51
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A series of moderately strong earthquakes struck the North Island of New Zealand early Wednesday. There were no reports of major damage or injuries at this time.
A preliminary magnitude 5.4 quake struck rural Hawke Bay near the town of Dannevirke at 10:15 a.m. and a preliminary magnitude 5.2 quake struck shortly after, according to the US Geological Survey. USA. Subsequently, several aftershocks were recorded. The quakes do not pose a tsunami threat, New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency said.
Near the epicenter, residents reported feeling a strong jolt as objects fell from ledges. Some schools evacuated their students and staff.
The first quake was felt as a slight but long shake in the capital Wellington, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) away. The nation’s earthquake monitoring agency, Geonet, received reports from more than 22,000 people who claimed to have felt the first tremor.
New Zealand, with a population of 5 million, is sometimes jokingly called the Shaking Islands, due to the number of earthquakes it records. The nation lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of plate tectonics around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common.
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