1968 Inangahua earthquake

1968 Inangahua earthquake
Damage inside Inangahua house after the earthquake
1968 Inangahua earthquake is located in New Zealand
1968 Inangahua earthquake
UTC time1968-05-23 17:24:18
ISC event822588
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date24 May 1968
Local time5:24 am NZST (UTC+12)
Magnitude7.1 Mw
Depth12 km (7.5 mi)
Epicentre41°46′S 172°02′E / 41.76°S 172.04°E / -41.76; 172.04
Areas affectedNew Zealand
Max. intensityMMI X (Extreme)
Peak acceleration~0.6 g[1]
Casualties3 dead, 14 injured[2]

The 1968 Inangahua earthquake struck 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Murchison, New Zealand, near the small town of Inangahua Junction at 5:24 am NZDT on 24 May 1968. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.1, a local magnitude of 6.7, a surface-wave magnitude of 7.4[3] and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Exreme). It occurred at a depth of 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), being extremely shallow for an earthquake of its size. It resulted in the deaths of three people, with a further 14 people injured,[4] making it the fifth deadliest earthquake in New Zealand's recorded history (tied with the 1848 Marlborough earthquake). Numerous aftershocks followed the quake, including 15 that were magnitude 5 or greater and occurred within a month.[3]

  1. ^ Dowrick, D. J.; Sritharan, S. (1993), "Peak ground accelerations recorded in the 1968 Inangauhua earthquake and some attenuation implications" (PDF), Bulletin of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering, 26 (3): 354
  2. ^ Callan, John (24 May 1998). "The day the earth moved in Inangahua". Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b "M 7.1, Inangahua, 24 May 1968". GeoNet.
  4. ^ "Inangahua Earthquake". Retrieved 8 April 2017.