Seismologist: Massive New Zealand quake moves country closer to Australia

[Mari333]

1:59 PM CDT, July 22, 2009

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Southern New Zealand has moved slightly closer to the east coast of neighboring Australia as a result of a massive earthquake last week off the country's South Island, a scientist said Wednesday.

The magnitude 7.8 quake, centered in the ocean near Resolution Island in the country's Fiordland region, twisted South Island out of shape and moved its southern tip 12 inches (30 centimeters) closer to Australia, seismologist Ken Gledhill said.











http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-as-new-zealand-quake-movement,0,969780.story

[xchrom]

1. 12"? -- wow that seems like a lot to me. nt

[MountainLaurel]

2. Yowza!

That's a big shift.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Hang on to something!

They're gonna collide!

(in just 12 million years)

[struggle4progress]

11. Bet you a case of beer Australia swerves out of New Zealand's path!

Australia's not stupid, you know

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Unless it's a Saturday, Australia is drunk and at the Footy game.

Then they might not swerve.

One other possibility......

If it's Melbourne Cup day, forget it.

[BurtWorm]

4. I heard that New Zealand fell off a cliff while making a movie on Jeff Goldblum.

:patriot:

[gauguin57]

10. LOL!

:rofl:

[Mrs. Overall]

5. Who in the hell would unrec this thread about an interesting, factual event?

[Maru Kitteh]

6. A lurking Freep who doesn't believe in tectonic plates?

The earth is flat! Couldn'be movin' no damn dinner plates roun' the eart' or theed fall ofn' the edge!

[SoCalDem]

8. probably the same one who un-rec'd a thread I posted about the woman who went back to Ethiopia

to start a grain market so her people would not starve.. how dare a person do something good? and how dare someone post the uplifting story?
..:shrug:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

9. That might have been one of the same people...

...who keep ranting about how grain is going to kill everybody.

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. That is a very large shift.

I'll bet there will some more major movement along whatever faults have built up strain. I live in SC, but we had a huge quake decades ago near Charleston. We have several faults, but most are hidden because we are a much older area. We could be next in line. Who knows?

[marmar]

13. Newstralia? Home of the Kiwozzies?

[The Straight Story]

14. It was the fault of smokers or Obama

Somehow, someway....

[brettdale]

15. well most us kiwis

End up moving there anyway.

I hope airline tickets are cheaper now.