A large earthquake rocked the lower North Island of New Zealand at 10:36 p.m. Tuesday. Reports show that the epicenter of the quake was nearly 150 miles below the surface, which has helped reduce damage.
#eqnz RT @breakingnews: Update: No reports of damage so far in New Zealand quake – AAP http://t.co/syk0Eqx4
— Caz Milligan (@Caz_Milligan) July 3, 2012
Reports across the board, however, have been inconsistent about the exact magnitude of the earthquake. Tremors are now being felt in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital.
More: Tremors of 6.2 quake in New Zealand felt in capital Wellington http://t.co/Vyr0nkDH
— RT (@RT_com) July 3, 2012
#BREAKING: A large 6.5 magnitude earthquake has hit the New Zealand North Island. No damage reported yet. More to come.
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) July 3, 2012
7.0 earthquake hits New Zealand: New Zealand has been shaken from Bay of Plenty to Canterbury by a 7.0-magnitude… http://t.co/b92sYMqp
— The Press Newsroom (@PressNewsroom) July 3, 2012
According to GeoNet, which measures earthquakes globally, the earthquake did hit 7.0 on the Richter magnitude scale. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was centered about 65 miles south of New Plymouth on New Zealand’s North Island.
https://twitter.com/AUtoday/status/220133736749080577
The quake, which shook everyone from Bay of Plenty to Canterbury, clearly caught residents off guard.
Just signed up, see how it goes. Was having a quiet, relaxed evening, then we had a 7.0 earthquake. Well rattled the house
— Kevin Butler (@Borokiwi) July 3, 2012
Oh. That's why the house was rolling around a bit. #fb http://t.co/7Nx0I493
— Grant (@grantux) July 3, 2012
https://twitter.com/aoife_dunphy/status/220121249848893440
Holy shit that was a big earthquake (Wellington)!
— Peter Griffin (@petergnz) July 3, 2012
https://twitter.com/BEXY_IS_SEXY/status/220122330247073793
While strong in magnitude, the earthquake wasn’t powerful enough to awaken the deepest of sleepers.
I live in the North Island and I never heard anything about an earthquake …or felt it #weird
— Trinity Jorrell (@I_QuestYou) July 3, 2012
The news has forced friends and family from overseas to send notes to their loved ones via Twitter, inquiring if they’re safe.
https://twitter.com/Kelso013/status/220127521344196608
https://twitter.com/TaylorKenzig/status/220129236915208192
https://twitter.com/RihamLovesYou/status/220130007723413504
Big earthquake in New Zealand, and we are all safe as it was deep offshore. Please RT to our overseas friends http://t.co/8zfEFDq2
— HuttValleyNZ (@TheHutt) July 3, 2012
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