M 6.8 Earthquake, 27km SSW of Blenheim, New Zealand

[applegrove]

Source: Google

M 6.8 Earthquake

27km SSW of Blenheim, New Zealand

16 mins ago – U.S. Geological Survey

An earthquake with magnitude 6.8 occurred near WELLINGTON, New Zealand at 02:31:10.46 UTC on Aug 16, 2013


Read more: https://www.google.ca/#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=ef92bb16709f3fd6&q=New+Zealand+earthquake

[itsrobert]

1. Severe earthquake hits near Seddon

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/217194/severe-earthquake-hits-near-seddon

Updated 3 minutes ago
A major earthquake has shaken the centre of the country, sending people running out of shops and buildings in downtown Wellington.
The 6.2 magnitude quake struck near Seddon in Marlborough at 2.31pm on Friday.
Geonet says the earthquake, described as severe, was recorded at a depth of 8 kilometres, 10 kilometres south-east of Seddon.
The quake was felt as far north as Hawke's Bay and as far south as Christchurch. There have been several aftershocks ranging as high as magnitude 5.7.
Mass power cuts are being reported in the upper South Island.
Marlborough Lines says its teams are assessing which areas have been worst hit and will then start trying to restore electricity but is asking customers to be patient.
The police communications centre says there have been no reports of injuries so far.
Marlborough mayor Alistair Sowman says the council buildings in Blenheim have been evacuated.

[Warpy]

2. 5.7 aftershock, only 5 km down

People there are saying it was a long roller. Cell service is out, so they're a little panicky about anyone who is down town and can't check in.

[Iliyah]

3. Prayers from Los Angeles

[applegrove]

4. Yes vibes. But thank god they don't think their will be a tsunami.

[AsahinaKimi]

6. I wondered about a Tsunami ...

Thanks for confirming that. NZ has been hit by quite a few quakes lately.. Good vibes for the people of NZ.

[tofuandbeer]

5. USGS now has it as 6.5 ...friggin' scary!

[Arctic Dave]

7. Take care NZ.

[marions ghost]

8. An account from Melbourne

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/strong-quakes-shake-new-zealand-20130816-2s125.html

--more in depth, in case anyone has friends or relatives there.

[kentauros]

9. Thanks

The NZ Herald is another good source.

My GF lives in the Bay of Plenty, on the north side of North Island, so no worries there. She may have felt it, but she also lives way out in the country, away from any large or tall buildings. She got to experience the Christchurch earthquake during the first and biggest one, and was glad to get back to the north side again.

[marions ghost]

10. Have friends in Wellington

--and another family member lived in Tauranga, on the Bay of Plenty--so I've heard stories about that beautiful area.

I've only seen Auckland, on the way to Melbourne.

Glad nobody seems to have been injured in this one... sounds like a real shaker....

[kentauros]

12. I've been to Auckland, Waiheke, and Whakatane, but not Tauranga.

Still, it's all quite beautiful, and the air is so nice and clean!
If you get the chance to visit again, take a few weeks. I know that's what I'll do the next time I get to go back.

I suspect the people in Wellington are still a bit anxious/nervous from the last quake, and were prepared or knew what to do quickly. I've never been through a quake, just hurricanes, though those can shake buildings, too...

[marions ghost]

14. I will definitely do that

--want to see more...love that rugged volcanic landscape...not sure I could take earthquakes on a regular basis tho.

Yeah I'm in hurricane alley too, far from earthquake zones usually. But I happened to be in Virginia in Aug 2011 when they had that central VA quake that damaged the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral. The funny thing is, the VA earthquake was at 1:51 pm. I had gotten into a car at approx 1:50 and went a few blocks and got out of the car at about 1:55. People were running out in the street, yelling "what was that?" and did you feel it!"--or "did you hear it?" Apparently it was a very loud concussion. We just said, "feel what, hear what?" We couldn't really feel it in the car, just thought it was a bump in the road.

LOL, my only earthquake, and I missed it --by a very narrow window...

[Myrina]

11. I do hope The Shire is ok!

Seriously, hope there is minimal damage and no loss of life to anyone in NZ.

[theHandpuppet]

13. Link to maps

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

Use your mouse to scroll to the area of interest.