M6.5 earthquake near Ashburton, Canterbury

What happened

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 35 km NNW of Methven, New Zealand on 26 Jun 1946, 12:34 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.

The nearest town in our records is Ashburton, about 65 km away in Canterbury, New Zealand.