Earthquake swarm

After more than 600 earthquakes rattled Kawerau at the weekend a seismologist says it's too early to say if further quakes or even larger earthquakes could ...

The swarm of earthquakes plaguing Bay of Plenty residents could continue for weeks, a GNS seismologist says. More than 760 earthquakes have been recorded so ...

Although it is a geothermal area, it would be very rare for geothermal activity to lead to such large magnitude earthquakes. Since the EQ swarm in Kawerau began yesterday, we have located over 600 earthquakes. We know the shaking has been disconcerting for folks in the area and our teams continue to monitor. Homes near hills or steep slopes and cliffs are most at risk - so residents should be on the lookout for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety. GNS said there has been some landslide activity in the area related to these earthquakes, including rockfalls. Typically they would be within 10km of the surface. So instead it triggers earthquakes a little bit smaller on other faults in order to release that stress. The location of the swarm is outside a volcanic area, so there is no indication of volcanic unrest, and no relation to the recent unrest at Taupō or Ruapehu. This extent of landsliding is to be expected for M4-5 earthquakes. Some can occur without any obvious trigger. But the Bay of Plenty region is experiencing a swarm which is a series of earthquakes of similar size and often shallow which was normal for the Taupō Volcanic Zone. "A swarm is the term used to describe earthquakes of similar size that are clustered together in space and time, and they are not unusual.

Geonet says the largest has been magnitude 4.8 -- but the majority have been between two and 2.9. The agency's assuring 'earthquake swarms' are common in ...

The swarm of earthquakes plaguing Bay of Plenty residents could continue for weeks, a GNS seismologist says. More than 760 earthquakes have been recorded so ...

Although it is a geothermal area, it would be very rare for geothermal activity to lead to such large magnitude earthquakes. Since the EQ swarm in Kawerau began yesterday, we have located over 600 earthquakes. We know the shaking has been disconcerting for folks in the area and our teams continue to monitor. Homes near hills or steep slopes and cliffs are most at risk - so residents should be on the lookout for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety. GNS said there has been some landslide activity in the area related to these earthquakes, including rockfalls. Typically they would be within 10km of the surface. So instead it triggers earthquakes a little bit smaller on other faults in order to release that stress. The location of the swarm is outside a volcanic area, so there is no indication of volcanic unrest, and no relation to the recent unrest at Taupō or Ruapehu. This extent of landsliding is to be expected for M4-5 earthquakes. Some can occur without any obvious trigger. But the Bay of Plenty region is experiencing a swarm which is a series of earthquakes of similar size and often shallow which was normal for the Taupō Volcanic Zone. "A swarm is the term used to describe earthquakes of similar size that are clustered together in space and time, and they are not unusual.

The swarm of earthquakes plaguing the region's residents could continue for weeks, a GNS seismologist says.

Although it is a geothermal area, it would be very rare for geothermal activity to lead to such large magnitude earthquakes. Since the EQ swarm in Kawerau began yesterday, we have located over 600 earthquakes. Homes near hills or steep slopes and cliffs are most at risk - so residents should be on the lookout for cracks or movement that could be a warning sign, and get quickly to safety. GNS said there has been some landslide activity in the area related to these earthquakes, including rockfalls. So instead it triggers earthquakes a little bit smaller on other faults in order to release that stress. Typically they would be within 10km of the surface.

Nearly 900 people felt the latest 4.2 earthquake in the Bay of Plenty, described by one local as “violent”. The quake struck at 4.48am today, was 3km deep ...

Six of those were M4+, with the last at that magnitude recorded yesterday morning. More than 780 earthquakes have been recorded in the Kawerau swarm. “Was working at the Edgecumbe packhouse when that hit all the lines stopped and the lights were swaying, no thanks!” another said. The first tremor was a magnitude 3.4 tremor at 3.29am on Saturday. Hundreds of tremors have been occurring over the last few days, with the largest a 4.8 magnitude shake. The quake struck at 4.48am today, was 3km deep and centred 20km west of Whakatāne.