The first for the New Year was a M5.1 near Guam just after midnight, south of the Mariana Islands, in the western Pacific, at a depth of just 18.1 kilometres.
This was followed by a M5.2 in the Santa Cruz Islands of the Solomon Islands group, (and a later aftershock of 5.1 at 3.44pm), as well as a M4.9 in the Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea.
In the Southern Ocean north of Antarctica, a M5.1 was recorded at 4.56am, located 10km deep on the Pacific-Antarctic ridge. These followed a series of earthquakes in the past week around Tonga and along the Kermadec Trench, (including a M6, 28km south southwest of Tonga on December 26th).
Large Quake Shakes Japan
The largest earthquake was a M6.8 temblor, recorded by the United States Geological Survey 242 km southwest of the Izu Islands, located at a depth of 348.5 kilometres.
This area is 495 km south southwest of the capital, Tokyo, and the earthquake was felt across eastern and north-eastern Japan.
There were no reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warnings were generated by the tremor.
Indonesian Faults Also Active
Northern Sumatra in Indonesia experienced a shallow M5.3 earthquake (just one kilometre deep), centred inland 163km southeast of Banda Aceh, at 6.09pm.
This was followed by many smaller aftershocks and another M5 at 9.07pm in the Halmahera region of Indonesia, about 182km northeast of the Moluccas, and the centre Ternate.
New Year Swarm in Christchurch
In New Zealand, there was another swarm of seismic activity peaking with a M5 earthquake at 1.27pm (local time) in Christchurch that was felt widely across the South Island. This was followed three hours later by another M5 aftershock.
Earthquakes have continued to rattle Christchurch since the major shakes and aftershocks that struck just before Christmas, starting on December 23rd.
Aftershocks Felt Widely
Hundreds of aftershocks of magnitude 3 and higher have kept residents on edge, and seismic activity has increased again with the start of 2012.
A relatively quiet New Years Day ended with a shaky M4 at 10.05pm, followed by a M5.1 and a strong M5.5 earthquake at 5.45am (both on January 2).
The M5.5 earthquake is the eleventh largest to hit the city, (according to Canterbury Quakelive), and was centred 20km northeast of Christchurch at a depth of 14km. It was felt throughout Canterbury and in areas of Otago and the West Coast.
The M5.5 was part of a swarm of earthquakes to hit the city in the early morning, including a M4.2 and two others rated at M4.1, and resulted in power outages to more than 10,000 residents in the eastern suburbs.
Residents Weary of Quakes
Residents described the quakes as “like a series of big trains passing through - loud and rattling with violent shaking” and "more of a rumble than a jolt this time".
Many Christchurch residents are weary from the stress of constant shakes and the impact it is having on their young children. Most have no choice but to remain in the city where they have homes and families and are sustained by the strong community spirit and support.
Online groups, such as ‘Rise-up Christchurch’ on Facebook reflect a level of support and empathy from New Zealanders and around the world with constant messages from many of the more than 109,000 members.
Tremblor Assessed Higher
Meanwhile, a M4.8 tremblor that struck the city at 1.44pm on Saturday 31st December at just 10km deep has been reassessed by United States Geological Survey seismologists as a M5.3 (using the ‘moment magnitude’ scale).
This quake was also felt widely across the South Island with 471 people reporting it, and of those, five classified it as ‘slightly damaging’ and 52 as ‘strong’.
