Monster quake off the New Zealand coast

by truthcaster | July 15, 2009 at 07:37 am

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CNN reports a 7.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of New Zealand. The shaker struck about 8:22 p.m. local time (9:22 a.m. UTC/5:22 a.m. ET.

(CNN) -- A major earthquake struck off the coast of New Zealand's South Island Wednesday night, rattling residents and prompting a tsunami warning that was later canceled.

The 7.8-magnitude quake generated a small, 6-inch tsunami in Jackson Bay, on the west coast of South Island and a 2-inch tsunami reported in the

Sea to the north of the epicenter, according to the the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Twenty minutes after the tremor, a 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck the same region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which measures earthquakes around the world.

Australia has warned residents on an island between its east coast and New Zealand to head to higher ground in case of a tsunami.

A quick check of the U.S.G.S website reports a slightly weaker 7.6 shaker.

Earthquake Details

Magnitude:   7.6

Date-Time:

    * Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 09:22:32 UTC
    * Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 08:22:32 PM at epicenter

Location:   45.725°S, 166.681°E

Depth:   35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program

Region:   OFF WEST COAST OF THE SOUTH ISLAND, N.Z.

Distances:
150 km (95 miles) WNW of Invercargill, New Zealand
175 km (110 miles) WSW of Queenstown, New Zealand
300 km (185 miles) W of Dunedin, New Zealand
825 km (510 miles) SW of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

UPDATE:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Southern New Zealand has moved slightly closer to the east coast of neighboring Australia as a result of a massive earthquake last week off the country's South Island, a scientist said Wednesday.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, centered in the ocean near Resolution Island in the country's Fiordland region, twisted South Island out of shape and moved its southern tip 12 inches (30 centimeters) closer to Australia, seismologist Ken Gledhill said.

Gledhill, director of government-owned GNS Science's "GeoNet" national earthquake monitoring project, said the island's geographic shift showed the immensity of the forces involved.

"Basically, it's taken us closer to Australia," he told National Radio. "The country is deforming all the time because of being on the plate boundary, but this has done it in a few seconds, rather than waiting hundreds of years."