Central New Zealand shaken by strong quake

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck near Taupo this afternoon and was felt widely throughout the country. File photo / NZ Herald

 A deep seated earthquake measuring magnitude 6.5 struck central New Zealand on Tuesday, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said the tremor of magnitude 6.5 struck at 3.36 p.m. (0336 GMT).

The government institute said it was centred 30 kms (18 miles) east of the holiday town of Taupo, close to the volcanically active area of Mount Ruapehu.

The quake was 150 km below ground level.

New Zealand scientists record around 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which on average around 20 top magnitude 5.0.

The country has been more alert to earthquakes since the South Island city of Christchurch, was struck by two devastating quakes in September last year and in February this year. The latter killed 181 people and caused an estimated NZ$15 billion of damage. 


The Prime Minister's press secretary, Lesley Hamilton, said the quake was felt strongly on the ninth floor of the Beehive.
Briar Charmley, private secretary for the Attorney-General on the 19th floor of Bowen House in downtown Wellington, said the building swayed more than in any previous earthquake she had felt in her 12 months in the office. 

Others compared the quake given to the 2.9 magnitude shock that struck Auckland on Friday.
"Aucklanders make a big deal over a 2.9 that felt like a gust of wind all over the news. Wellingtonians brush off a 6.5," Keegan Check said.

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Powerful quakes rattle New Zealand city, six injured

A series of powerful tremors rattled the quake-prone New Zealand city of Christchurch Monday, destroying a building and sending boulders tumbling down hillsides. Six people suffered minor injuries. New Zealand's GNS Institute put the strongest of the quakes at a magnitude of 6.0 at 2.20 pm (10:20 pm ET). The United States Geological Survey also pegged it at 6.0 -- with the epicentre four miles east south east of the city at a depth of 5.6 miles. Four tremors above 4.3 were recorded from 0029 GMT. Shopping malls and office buildings were evacuated across the city, which is still trying to recover almost four months after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed 181 people and caused extensive damage. A building in the city center collapsed and minor damage occurred in buildings affected in previous earthquakes, Christchurch Police spokesman Steven Hill told. "The building has been checked and been given the all-clear," Hill said, meaning no one was trapped inside. The St John ambulance service said six people had been taken to hospital with moderately serious injuries, all caused by falling building materials. As with the initial quake, Monday's aftershock sent boulders on the city's Port Hills tumbling toward houses. Parts of the eastern city, which suffered the most damage in February's tremor, suffered from flooding and liquefaction - where solid ground is turned into liquid by the force of the quake. Power was cut to about 10,000 houses. Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude 7.1 quake struck the city on Sept 4 last year. Parts of the central city have been closed to the public since the Feb 22 quake, and one of the city's tallest buildings, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, has been declared unstable and is being prepared for demolition.

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Blasts kill 20 in Afghan towns

A series of bombs and explosions killed 20 people in Afghanistan's southern and eastern flashpoints yesterday, among them at least eight children and four women, government officials said.

The attacks came as the UN said that May was the deadliest month for civilians in Afghanistan since at least 2007, with 368 deaths and 593 injuries of documented.

In yesterday's deadliest incident, a vehicle hit a mine in Arghandab district of the southern province of Kandahar.

"Today at 10:00am, 15 civilians were killed, including eight children, four women and three men," the ministry said.

The interior ministry said six civilians, including a woman and two children, were wounded by mortar bombs fired at a district police headquarters in the eastern province of Kunar.

In the eastern province of Khost, a suicide bomber yesterday killed three people including the commander of a provincial Afghan police rapid reaction force and wounded 12 others, officials said.
Two policemen were also killed and nine wounded when two successive blasts hit the eastern province of Laghman, in the border with Pakistan.a

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