Australia And New Zealand Hit By Earthquakes

By Mark Dunphy - Tue Jul 05, 11:23 am

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has shaken parts of New Zealand’s north Island on Tuesday.

The US Geological Survey said the quake was a relatively deep one, registered at 161.3 km (100.2 miles) below the surface. The quake epicentre was 69 km (42 miles) SW of Rotorua, 144 km (89 miles) NW of Napier, and 209 km (129 miles) SSE of Auckland.

Another moderate earthquake struck off the south east coast of New Zealand’s North Island on Monday. The 4.9 magnitude quake struck at 8.36P.M. local time in the southern Hawke’s Bay region.

Earlier today a rare 4.6 magnitude earthquake struck Australia, just 97 km southeast of Melbourne and 24 km SW of Warragul. Geosciences Australia confirmed that the epicentre of the earthquake was at Korumburra, near Leongatha, in the Gippsland area.

It was recorded at a depth of just 10km, making its effects more widely felt than today’s earthquake in New Zealand. The tremor struck just after 11.30am local time.

Government officials said that earthquakes measuring 4 magnitude or more on the Richter Scale are relatively rare in Australia. They described today’s quake as a “notableâ€