From the NZ Herald...
"A MAGNITUDE 5.2 quake struck central New Zealand yesterday but police said there were no immediate reports of injury or damage. The moderate quake shook upper South Island and the southern North Island region round the capital Wellington. Geological agency GNS Science said the quake centred 190km underground and 50km out to sea west of the city of Nelson on South Island. New Zealand sits above two colliding tectonic plates and experiences more than 14 thousand earthquakes each year. Some 150 are felt by residents and less than 10 cause any damage."
Yep, and although it woke us up, it was barely a blip on the news. Small and deep earthquakes don't get their attention, but a good shallow shake would. Fortunately, our future apartment is relatively new and Wellington's construction standards are high.
Regardless, it was hard to go to sleep after that.
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Actually, we were pretty aware of the situation before coming here. New Zealand is cut down the middle by major fault lines, sitting on the edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire."
This refers to a ridgeline where tectonic plates meet, and consequently there is a lot of geothermal activity on the islands. That's why we have so many volcanoes and landscape features like geysers, hot springs, etc.
The last really notable big quake was probably the one that hit Napier. There have been others that caused damage around the country since then, but that one is still considered to most destructive in the last 150 years.
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