Quake shakes icebergs into Tasman Glacier Lake....

Image via Wikipedia

Quake shakes icebergs into Tasman Glacier's Lake...


The earthquake that struck Christchurch today was so powerful it caused huge icebergs to break off and cave into the Tasman Lake.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake shook large icebergs in the Tasman Glacier's Terminal Lake, sending about 30 million tonnes of ice loose, 3news.co.nz reports.

The pieces floated into the lake at Aoraki Mt Cook National Park.

Tourism manager for Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Village, Denis Callesen, says the quake caused a major calving from the Basal and Terminal Face of the Glacier

“We have procedures to deal with this type of event and for some time have stayed 800m away from the Terminal Face as we suspected it was becoming unstable,” he was quoted as saying.

Passengers aboard two tour boats also felt the disturbance, experiencing waves of up to 3.5m for about 30 minutes.

Tourism manager Denis Callesen told the NZ Herald that the dangers for the passengers could have been worse if not for safety procedures that were put in place.

The calving was the third biggest event in the history of the Terminal Lake, which is now over 6km long and 2km wide in places, after a huge quake.

Acknowledgements: MSN News

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Nature's fury - massive storm hit New Zealand yesterday...

Image via Wikipedia The huge storm hitting New Zealand is already causing chaos for emergency services in the Hutt Valley north of Wellington.


The power is out, trees and sheds are on fire and more than 100 lightning strikes have been recorded in the Hutt Valley and Kapiti Coast in the past two hours, according to media reports.



New Zealanders are being warned to brace for the storm, which the New Zealand Herald described as "one of the biggest storms on the planet".



The worst of the storm has hit on the West Coast and Southern Alps where heavy rain is falling, with snow down to 200 metres in places.



Visit the New Zealand Transport agency for updates on road conditions.





Tasman Storm Sparks Concerns


Later this afternoon a storm front is expected to hit entire the North Island.


Heavy rain and winds of up to 130km/h are expected.



The wild weather is expected to bring extreme conditions over the next 48 hours.



New Zealanders are being warned to stay away from the beaches as the storm hits

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