In New Zealand, the earth has shook nearly 1,000 times in recent days – and this phenomenon is expected to continue for weeks, experts warn. The series of quakes reached a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale.
According to the national earthquake monitoring station Geonet, the earth shook 922 times from last Saturday to Wednesday morning (local time) near the town of Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty region. With such an accumulation, experts speak of an earthquake swarm or swarm. “We expect an overall decrease in the frequency of these earthquakes in the near future, but we don’t know for sure,” seismologist John Ristau said.
“Volcanic unrest or geothermal activity” as the cause
In 2018 and 2019, there were already swarm earthquakes in the Kawerau region, but with less severe earthquakes. “Our experts believe this swarm is due to the movement of active faults and not related to volcanic unrest or geothermal activity,” Ristau noted.
Mayor Faylene Tunui said some hiking trails in the region have been closed due to falling rocks and landslides. However, so far there is no major damage.
Source: Krone
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