Quake moves New Zealand a bit closer to Australia
THERE won't be any cheaper air fares but southern New Zealand is now closer to Australia after last week's huge earthquake.
The quake was so powerful it pushed the South Island 30cm closer to Australia.
Tthe island's east coast moved only 1cm westwards.
"New Zealand just got a little bit bigger," earthquake scientist Ken Gledhill said.
He said the quake did it "in a few seconds rather than waiting hundreds of years".
While it brings our eastern neighbour closer, there's still a 2250km gap between us.
The 7.8 magnitude quake, the biggest in New Zealand for 78 years, caused slight damage to buildings and property when it struck the remote Fiordland region last Thursday.
A tsunami was generated - a tide gauge on the west coast recorded a wave of 1m.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...013016,00.html
