March 29, 2024

Swarm of earthquakes shake central North Island

Lake Taupo

A swarm of moderate earthquakes shook the central North Island on October 29 followed by a 5.4 quake on Sunday 1 2015 which struck 35 km north-east of Taihape.

The North Island’s central region is dominated by volcanoes including Lake Taupo a super-volcano. It also includes Ruapehu the highest mountain in the North Island. There was also a swarm of small earthquakes near Mt Taranaki a lone volcano to the west.

GNS Science state that it is not unusual to have a swarm of small or moderate quakes in these areas and more study is required in order to comment further.