M6.2 earthquake - east of the North Island of New Zealand

What happened

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck east of the North Island of New Zealand on 24 Feb 1956, 09:18 UTC at a depth of 25 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.