Abstract
A STRONG earthquake shook a considerable area in New Zealand at about 11.18 p. m. (local time) on June 24. The places most affected were Masterton, Eketahuna, Grey town and Carterton. Property in Wellington and Palmerston North was damaged. At the southern end of the North Island, therefore, extensive minor damage was done over a wide area, windows being broken, chimneys dislodged and so forth, though no casualties have been reported. Buildings erected since 1933 under the earthquake by-laws (similar to those in force in many parts of California), have suffered only superficial damage. The main shock was preceded by a precursor shock at 8.15 p. m. (local time). The principal shock is said to have been the most severe since February 1931, when more than two hundred people were killed in the Hawke's Bay region as the result of a very severe earthquake. New Zealand is a seismic region, and hundreds of minor shocks occur every year. The study of these, and the multitude of seismological problems which arise, is actively pursued at Wellington, and we await further news of the present shock from the Dominion Observatory.
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New Zealand Earthquakes. Nature 150, 18–19 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/150018c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/150018c0