A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 40km north of Te Anau at 9.14pm on Thursday, shaking large parts of the South Island and being felt across sections of the North Island.
The quake occurred at a depth of 51km and was classified as producing strong shaking.
More than 20,000 people reported feeling the earthquake, according to initial reports. There were no immediate reports of significant damage or injuries.
A late night shake for much of the South Island and parts of the North Island with a M6.3 quake. We received over 20,000 felt reports: https://t.co/NYykoT1TXP
Remember to Drop, Cover and Hold if you feel shaking, and know your tsunami evacuation route if you live near the coast. pic.twitter.com/ZTcmCRLYke— GeoNet (@geonet) July 16, 2026
According to Geonet there have have been twelve earthquakes in the Te Anau area since 9.14pm Thursday night. The last one was at 4.50am this morning. They ranged in strength from 2.3 to 6.3.
am? this morning?
Well, at least they can’t downgrade the 6.3 to a 5.0 for insurance reasons…too readily apparent due to the seismometers reading actual S & P Waves!
And how ’bout that depth?
Space weather predicts more quakes due to solar activities which are also influencing El Nino conditions.
One can only hope that Canadair CL44 fire-fighting aircraft will be pre-positioned under government lease / contract for our upcoming summer, or-
Permanently purchase the roll on / roll off fire fighting equipment for the C-130’s of the RNZAF.
Bullsh*t metservice shovelled out another horsesh*t tsunami warning screaming for people on the west coast to walk, run or cycle to the hills and not drive in case of massive traffic jams, and that it was highly LIKELY the coastline would be struck by tsunamis. This was 9.30ish last night on their bullsh*t weather site. No sign or hint of it being mentioned on there now …..
Shame it wasn’t under the Dronehive…..