An earthquake brings New Zealand to Australia

2009/10/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geografia

Australia and New Zealand are now closer. In fact, an earthquake has moved 30 centimeters to Australia to one of the islands of New Zealand, the south. The jolt took place in the Tasmanian Sea and had 7.8 degrees on the Richter scale. Although the southern island has moved 30 centimeters, the east coast has barely reached an inch.

The biggest earthquake in New Zealand in seventy-eight years has, however, been a slight damage in some buildings. According to experts, the shake was strong enough to create a small tsunami and a wave of one meter formed on the west coast. Earthquakes are frequent in New Zealand, where the Australian plate and the Pacific plate are joined.