New Zealand: Two earthquakes rattle North Island

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Great Earthquakes In Diverse Places

New Zealand: Two earthquakes rattle North Island

Last updated 08:36 14/01/2011
NZ News Wires

The North Island's East Coast was shaken by two significant earthquakes this morning, with residents saying they could hear one of the quakes coming.

The first and largest quake, a 5.5 magnitude tremor, struck 160km north-east of Ruatoria, near Tokomaru Bay, at 1.04am.

A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck at 5.31am and was centred 10km north-east of the city at a depth of 30km.

Gisborne resident Anna Covell said she felt both the quakes - and the first one was definitely the more violent.

"I was lying there and thinking maybe I should get out of bed," she said.

"One of them you could definitely hear - there was a real rumbling sound like a truck or thunder in the distance a split second before it hit."

Moira Johnston, also from Gisborne, said she heard the second quake coming too.

"There was a bit of a creak but I didn't get out of bed."

"It was quite eerie though, there was no wind and no birds after it hit."

Lynne Holmberg was awake and using her laptop when she felt the first quake.

''It seemed like three quakes to me - they all came very close together,'' she said.

Holmberg lives in a Lockwood house, which made quite a bit of noise when it shook.

She ran into check on her seven-year-old grandson, Silas, who was quite shaken after the big quake in December 2007,  but found he was OK.

They fell back to sleep and didn't rouse when the second quake hit. Nothing in their home was damaged.

Parts of Gisborne are still re-building from a magnitude 6.8 earthquake which struck in December 2007.

Several stores have had to move, or close down, after the buildings they were housed in were declared unsafe.

- with Waikato Times