Earthquakes hit New Zealand, China and Indonesia
Wellington, April 1 (AP, PTI): Two strong earthquakes shook the remote Kermadec Islands region of the South Pacific early today, New Zealand’s geological sciences group, GNS Science, reported.
In China an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale and two aftershocks jolted China’s northeastern Jilin Province but no casualties were reported.
A moderate earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter Scale struck the Indonesian region of Talaud in the wee hours today.
Earthquake in New Zealand
In New Zealand a magnitude 6.5 earthquake was recorded at local time 1:21 am, 110 kilometres east of Raoul Island in the Kermadec archipelago and 1,140 kilometres northeast of New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland.
A second temblor of magnitude 5.2 shook the region at 2:05 am New Zealand time, the agency’s duty seismologist Ken Gledhill said.
Both quakes hit at a depth of 10 kilometres but the second was located 100 kilometres east-south-east of Raoul Island.
A volcano erupted on Raoul Island March 17 spewing plumes of steam and ash and devastating the surrounding area.
New Zealand conservation worker Mark Kearney, 32, who was checking the temperature of the island’s main crater lake when it exploded, was buried under five metres of mud and ash in the eruption.
Three conservation workers currently are stationed on the island, but the coordinator of volcano surveillance at GNS Science, Brad Scott, said strong earthquakes are normal for the region.
He said there was no indication that the volcano on Raoul Island was affected by the temblor.
Gledhill said big quakes are “not uncommon” in the chain of volcanic islands, as tectonic plates collide beneath them.
Earthquake hits northeast China province
The quake struck at 8:23 p.m. last night with the epicentre in Laoyingtai village, about 200 km north of the provincial capital Changchun, said deputy head of the seismological bureau of Changchun city, Zheng Yaqin.
The quake was followed by two aftershocks, officials with the bureau said. Cracks could be seen on the walls of a number of houses in the village and some warehouses had collapsed.
Rescuers were working at the site and seismological experts were rushing to the epicentre area, Xinhua news agency reported.
The quake was felt by residents of most parts of Jilin and some areas in the neighbouring provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang, and the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Moderate quake strikes Talaud region in Indonesia
A moderate earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale struck the Indonesian region of Talaud in the wee hours today, the Meteorological Department said here. The quake, which happened at 0245 hours IST, was epicentred at latitude 3.9 deg N and longitude 126.4 deg E, the department said in a release.