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 12 Jan 1954, 14:16 UTC at a depth of 35 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.