M7.1 earthquake in New Zealand shakes Gisborne and Tauranga

Magnitude 7.1 severe earthquake rattled New Zealand with epicenter located 167km NNE of Gisborne and 257km E of Tauranga.

According to a spokeswoman for Insurance Council New Zealand, no significant damage had been reported to the authority this morning.

The quake also cut power to about 1000 homes in Eastern Bay of Plenty, NZHerald reported.

Biggest earthquake in 201 years

The September 1, 2016 M 7.1 earthquake northeast of Gisborne, New Zealand is the biggest quake to hit top of the North Island in 20 years.

The largest was a M 7.1 event in February 1995, about 45 km to the southwest of the September 1, 2016 earthquake. The 1995 event also occurred as a result of shallow oblique-normal faulting, and is not known to have caused any fatalities or damage. The 1995 M 7.1 earthquake was followed by a M 6.5 aftershock five days later.

Tectonic Summary

The earthquake occurred as the result of shallow oblique-normal faulting near the plate boundary between the Pacific and Australia plates.

The current event was preceded by a M 5.8 foreshock, approximately 18 hours earlier and 30 km to the north, at a similar depth and with the same faulting mechanism as the subsequent M 7.1 earthquake.