Earthquake stopped grandfather clock

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33425, 5 January 1974, Page 13

Earthquake stopped grandfather clock

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON.

New Zealand’s largest earthquake of 1973 caused an unusual event, the Geophysics Division of the D.S.I.R. reported in its annual review of New Zealand earthquakes.

The earthquake on January i 6 of magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale caused a grandfather clock in a home near Waipukurau to stop, the first stoppage caused by any earthquake since the Napier earthquake of 1931. The earthquake had an epicentre about 20 kilometres west of National Park. It was felt over the North Island, south of a line from Whakatane to Kawhia and extended as far south as Hokitika and Timaru. The earthquake and War Damages Commission received more than 2500 claims after the earthquake and paid out $lBO,OOO in compensation. Although the earthquake was centred near the park the D.S.I.R. said in its report that “no significant earthquakes” were associated with activity in the three volcanoes in the park. However, Mount Ngauruhoe was more active in 1973 than in recent years. Activity that started in November, 1972, continued as strong ash eruptions on Januarv 1 and 2. DEEP SHOCKS The D.S.I.R. reports two !other significant deep shocks jin 1973. One, centred 66 kilo-! ! metres beneath d’Urville' 'lsland on March 26, had a !magnitude of 5.3 and the sec-: iond. 47 minutes later, had'

’ a magnitude of 5.4 with a : focus 74 kilometres deep and; ■ almost directly beneath Wel-j • lington. t Other significant deep r shocks in 1973 were on June ■ 13 beneath Cook Strait (magnitude 5.1), January 15 bei neath the Rotorua region ! (5.5), March 7 beneath the : central North Island (5.3), i April 15 beneath Taranaki i (5.1), August 30 off East I Cape (5.5). and on December ; 27 in the Bay of Plenty (5.8). The largest shallow earth- • quake of 1973 occurred early ■ in the morning of February : 22. It was of magnitude 5.7 I and it was centred about 10 • kilometres south-west of Hastings. i It was preceded by a fore- : shock of magnitude 4.8 and ; was followed 47 minutes later ■ by an after shock of magi nitude 5.1. Over the next four days a series of shocks were felt throughout Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Wairarapa. ; A minor- movement of the Clarence Fault in Marlborough resulted in another i series of shallow earthquakes, the two largest on April 23 (magnitude 5.2) and April 29 (5.1). Shallow earthquakes were i also felt in the Fiordland ; region on May 23 (5.0), Lake ■!Te Anau on January 29 (5.3), : near Rotorua on May 6 (3.2). i and near the centre of ■! Christchurch on June 19 1 (2.9).