The epicenter is 25 km west of Timaru

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The red marker marks the epicenter of the earthquake that shook areas south of Canterbury early on Wednesday.

According to GeoNet, the earthquake that shook parts of southern Canterbury early Wednesday is only a third of that magnitude in the region in 51 years.

The epicenter of the 4.1 earthquake that struck at 1.05 a.m. was about 25 kilometers west of Timaru in the Mongati region of the Hunter Hills at a depth of 5.3 kilometers.

“In Timaru, there are regularly 10 to 100 small events in that area each year,” said Zelda Edwards, a communications consultant at GeoNet.

“While our recording period is relatively short (geologically speaking), similar-sized (and shallow) events occurred in 2000 and 1970.”

Edwards said the faint tremor from Wednesday morning’s “shallow crust” earthquake was felt far in Dunedin and Christchurch.

“Specifically, earthquakes in this region are caused by movements along the plate margin that form the accumulated alpine fault stresses in adjacent regions.

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Screenshot from the GeoNet website showing the location of Wednesday’s earthquake 25 km west of Timaru and the spread of “substantial reports”.

“There are many faults that have been mapped in the area, but there are still many faults that have not yet been mapped by field geologists and seismologists.

“It’s hard to say what went wrong.”

Residents of Timaru woke up from the quake and said it felt like a “light rattling” and lasted less than three seconds.

Edwards added that there have been seven earthquakes near Timaru in the past month. The last one was yesterday and he was too young for many to feel.

New Zealand is a seismically active country, and southern Canterbury is no exception.

Large earthquakes can occur anywhere in New Zealand at any time. The best thing you can do is prepare. Drop, cover and hold while shaking. And if you feel a long or strong earthquake, or receive a tsunami warning, move immediately to higher ground or as far inland as possible.”

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