Earthquake Shakes New Zealand

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*Great Earthquakes in Diverse Places

Earthquake Shakes New Zealand *

The Associated Press
Thursday, January 18, 2007; 12:58 AM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook New
Zealand's central North Island Thursday, seismologists said, but there
were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The temblor was centered near Taihape, 150 miles north of the capital,
Wellington, at a depth of 30 miles, the Institute of Geological and
Nuclear Sciences reported.

New Zealand sits above an area of the Earth's crust where the Pacific
and Australian tectonic plates are colliding and records more than
14,000 earthquakes a year _ but only about 150 are felt by residents.
Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.