article: Jun 27 2009 - Turangi area seismicity

A swarm of earthquakes has been occurring west of Turangi at the southern end of Lake Taupo.

The last 2 months of earthquakes around Lake Taupo. The extent of the swarm can be clearly seen west of Turangi.

Two strongly felt earthquakes occurred overnight. These events had magnitude 4.3 and 4.4 and occurred at 1:01 am and 5:21 am local time respectively. They are part of a swarm including several hundred earthquakes that have been occurring between Lake Rotoaira and Turangi over the past several weeks. The events from last night are the largest to date in the swarm. The largest events are occurring 5 - 10 km south-west to west of Turangi and at depths of less than 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size and depth are likely to be felt by most people who are indoors and will awaken people who are sleeping. Such earthquakes are likely to shift unstable objects in the household and may break glassware or crockery. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes.

Earthquake swarms having this character and magnitude range are common in the volcanic area between Ruapehu and the Bay of Plenty, and are not unexpected. Fluctuations in the numbers and magnitudes of earthquakes are commonly observed in this region. GNS Science continues to monitor local seismicity in the area.

Arthur Jolly
Duty Volcanologist