Inputs by Samyukta Mallick
On March 16th, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 occurred in the Karmadec Islands region of New Zealand. These islands are towards the North of New Zealand (map given above is a screen grab from Google Maps and may not be accurate).
The depth of the earthquake was 10.0 km or 6.2 miles.
After the earthquake, the US Geological Survey did issue a tsunami warning for coasts within 300 kms of the quake site. However, both the New Zealand and Australian authorities indicated that there was no risk of a tsunami. No tsunami was reported after the quake.
Since then, multiple minor quakes (intensity from 3.0 to 5.3) have been occurring in the region. This does not pose any threat to property or houses.
Ecuador Earthquake
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Ecuador at the coastal region. The quake was also felt in some parts of Peru.
According to USGS, the depth was 65.8 kms and the time was 18th March, 2242 hours (10: 42 pm) India Time. This translates to about 1215hours (12:15 pm) local time.
The location was 10 kms from the city of Balao in the province of Guayas, Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian quake is from the Nazca tectonic plate. This place also lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
As you can see, both the New Zealand and the Ecuadorian quakes are marked by the Ring of Fire – the zone where frequent quakes are expected. Further, they are on the edges of their respective tectonic plates.
From this image, can you identify the location of the other major quake that occurred recently?