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Earthquake Watch

For the latest earthquake image representing the last 7 days of activity please click the map above or Click Here The oldest earthquakes are red. The latest earthquake is green. Earthquakes under M4 are not shown. The data feed for the image will not include most New Zealand eathquakes. The area of interested is northeast of our coastline in the region of the Kermidec and Tonga Trench.

Last update Sunday 19/02/2012 1:22pm

Living in Russell or any where near the coast, do we need to worry about earthquakes? Earthquakes have been happening for years across the globe.

There is debate as to whether earthquake activity has increased. Some say that due to technology we are able to detect seismic activity that previously went unnoticed and was never reported. Some will point to the Bible and quote " In the time of the end earthquakes will happen in one place after another". And many just don't care.

It does not matter one way or the other..... the fact is these earthquakes are happening regularly, sometimes daily and many are close to
New Zealand shores.

If you are not actively seeking information on earthquakes then it would be easy to ignore the earthquakes that are happening regularly and so close to us. To be reported in the media earthquakes have to be newsworthy so only the largest will ever get a mention.

Before the large earthquake in Japan in 2011 that killed 15,836 people, records show that the Japan Trench had 9 events of magnitude 7 or greater since 1973.

Already this year (2011) the Kermadec Trench has hosted the 4th and 5th largest earthquakes in the world; 7.6 in July and 7.4 in October. These were not small quakes and had enough energy to produce tsunami waves. The fact that these waves caused no real damage or loss of life in some way distracts observers from the reality of the magnitude of these events. We should ask, are these warning signs of something bigger to come? Based on events in the Japan Trench, as described above, we could reasonably conclude that this is a plausible possibility.

History reports that tsunami have struck New Zealand, but just because we have not had a destructive tsunami in recent times does not mean we will not experience such an event in our lifetime.

Tonga - September 29, 2009 . Yet another deadly event from the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone. A tsunami wave was generated by a powerful 8.1 off shore earthquake that was reported to have produced a 14 metre wave in some areas. Read more about the..... 2009 Tonga Earthquake

Do you think these facts are just scare tactics? No they are not scare tactics they are aware tactics.

Consider...This year the Kermadec Trench has had two major earthquakes that have triggered Civil Defence tsunami alerts. How many tsunami alerts have you ever experienced in your life? It would be hard to ignore the significance of these events. As Civil Defence say....Are you ready? Russell Civil Defence Website

A few earthquake facts:

An earthquake has to be larger than 6.75 magnatude to generate a tsunami wave.

A Mag 7 Earthquake is 32 times stronger than a Mag 6.

Earthquakes can trigger volcanic eruptions.

The largest earthquake ever recorded was a 9.5 that occurred in Chile in 1960.