Experts believe that the earthquake that shook New Zealand on February 15 was caused by tectonic activity and is not related to the earthquake in Turkey.
The quake, measuring approximately 6 on the Richter scale, caused tremors across both the North and South Islands of New Zealand on February 15. Thankfully, there have been no reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter of the earthquake on February 15 was located in the Cook Strait, the sea that separates New Zealand’s North and South Islands. The earthquake struck at 7:38 PM local time (1:38 AM on February 15 in Hanoi) at a depth of about 74 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Witnesses reported feeling strong shaking lasting several seconds in the capital, Wellington.
North Island of New Zealand. (Photo: Distant Journey).
GeoNet, the agency monitoring geological hazards, reported receiving over 61,000 reports from people feeling the tremors. Fortunately, no tsunami was generated due to the distance of the epicenter from the mainland. The earthquake occurred after Cyclone Gabrielle caused severe damage in the North Island earlier this week, resulting in 4 fatalities and over 10,000 people losing their homes.
Earthquakes occur when two tectonic plates slide past each other in opposite directions, causing a collision and separation. New Zealand lies on the boundary between the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate. The neighboring country, Australia, is further from this boundary and thus experiences fewer strong tremors.
According to Dr. Jessica Johnson, a geophysicist at the University of East Anglia, the Earth’s crust consists of many tectonic plates that move relative to each other. At the boundaries of these tectonic plates, rocks can move past each other and accumulate pressure due to friction, eventually resulting in sudden slips that lead to earthquakes. Strong earthquakes often occur along fault lines where tectonic plates meet, but smaller tremors can occur in the middle of tectonic plates. Earthquakes are often accompanied by aftershocks. These aftershocks are smaller than the initial earthquake but can still cause harm to people and property.
However, aftershocks occur in the same area as the main earthquake; therefore, the earthquake in New Zealand is a completely separate event. Dr. Johnson stated that there is no connection between the earthquake in New Zealand and the Turkey-Syria earthquake, partly due to the significant distance between the two regions (approximately 16,100 km), which exceeds the range of aftershocks.
“In tectonically active areas, small earthquakes occur very frequently and often go unnoticed. However, when a larger earthquake occurs closer to the surface, people may feel the vibrations. When an earthquake happens, it can transmit pressure to nearby fault lines. But the fault lines in New Zealand and Turkey are too far apart for the pressures to influence each other,” Dr. Johnson explained. Similarly, David Rothery, a professor of planetary geoscience at The Open University, noted that no earthquake in New Zealand could be a consequence of the earthquake in Turkey.
According to British geologist Roger Musson, earthquakes occur far more frequently than most people realize. The National Earthquake Information Center reports approximately 20,000 earthquakes globally each year, averaging about 55 per day, although only about 16 of these are classified as major earthquakes each year.
