Severe Quake Rocks Southern New Zealand, Disrupts Power
A severe earthquake measuring as much as 6.5 on the Richter scale rocked southern New Zealand shortly before noon today, officials said.
The quake shut down a major power station and disrupted electricity supplies in the Lake Manapouri area on the South Island of New Zealand, police said.
No injuries were reported.
U.S. Geological Survey earthquake monitors in Golden, Colo., reported that the tremors had a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, which can cause severe damage.
“The quake measured 6 on the Richter scale and possibly reached a magnitude of 6.5,” said Warwick Smith, superintendent of the New Zealand seismological observatory.
Smith said the quake was centered in the Fiordland area of the South Island, near Lake Manapouri, 184 miles west of Dunedin.
The earthquake was reported felt in the southern towns of Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown, and 800 miles north in Auckland.
A hydroelectric plant was forced to shut down and parts of Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill were without power for up to three hours until connections were made to other generators.
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