Big ’quake in Gisborne

Press, 9 March 1984, Page 1

Big ’quake in Gisborne

PA Wellington The earthquake felt throughout much of the North Island at 12.41 p.m. yesterday caused some alarm but no damage was reported outside Gisborne. The earthquake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, was centred at Matawai, north of Gisborne, and was New Zealand’s fourth-larg-est in 20 years, according to the Seismological Observatory in Wellington. The estimated depth of the earthquake, 86km, and the sparse population in the area, are thought to account for the lack of damage reports. As it struck buildings swayed, lunch-time diners dived under their tables, and goods and crockery crashed from shelves in Gisborne. In parts of the city fallen lines disrupted the power supply and telephone service.

However, there was no immediate report of serious damage.

The earthquake was felt as far north as Hamilton and as far south as Christchurch, although it did not register on the Canterbury Museum’s seismograph at Birdlings Flat.

Slight tremors were felt in Christchurch, said a spokesman for the museum.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Shearer said yesterday that scientists had found no evidence to indicate that the Turangi area was about to experience a serious earthquake or volcanic eruption.

Dr Shearer said the D.S.I.R. described the current “swarm” of earthquakes in the region as part of a “normal pattern of geological events which occurred frequently in the central North Island.”

However, the D.S.I.R.’s Geophysics Division is mounting a study to determine whether earthquake swarm activity has increased in the volcanic zone in recent years.