M6.5 earthquake - off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand on 22 Feb 1936, 19:22 UTC at a depth of 15 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.