New Zealand's South Island rocked by two earthquakes

November 2, 2000
Web posted at: 6:31 AM HKT (2231 GMT)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) -- New Zealand's lower South Island was rocked by two earthquakes overnight, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said on Thursday.

Police said there had been no reports of injury or damage.

The first, measuring 6.2 on the open-ended Richter scale, centred 80 km (50 miles) north-west of Te Anau at 11:35 p.m., (2235 GMT) in South Island sparsely populated south.

"This earthquake will have been widely felt in the lower South Island," the government agency said.

The second, an aftershock at 1:09 a.m. (2309 GMT), measured 4.9, the government agency said.

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