Story: Historic earthquakes

Extent of shaking, Īnangahua earthquake, 24 May 1968 (1st of 2)

The Modified Mercalli scale (from 1 to 12) measures earthquakes by the intensity of shaking observed. This map shows the extent of shaking from the Īnangahua earthquake of 24 May 1968. From an intensity of 8 at the epicentre near Īnangahua Junction, 40 kilometres east of Westport, the isoseismal lines spread outwards. Although the most damaging shaking was on the northern part of the West Coast, the earthquake was felt over much of New Zealand.

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Source: G. L. Downes, Atlas of isoseismal maps of New Zealand earthquakes. Lower Hutt: Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, 1995.

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How to cite this page:

Eileen McSaveney, 'Historic earthquakes - The 1968 Īnangahua earthquake', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/4522/extent-of-shaking-inangahua-earthquake-24-may-1968 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 28 Mar 2011, updated 1 Nov 2017