Earthquake hits Auckland - 4.5 richter scale

Exactly one hour ago, Auckland experienced an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the richter scale.

At first I thought someone had slammed a door (though no one else was in) and that the reverberation was the result. However, the reverberation continued, causing the wall and the couch to sway. It was as if the room was made on balsa wood and was skewing in the wind. The swaying was akin to being on a boat on still water with a slight swell. The flexing in the wall repeated over approximately 5 seconds. It was not until 20 seconds after the event that I realised what I had experienced.

The house where I am staying is a timber frame villa so the swaying would have been exaggerated due to the house being on stilts. It was un-nerving to say the least.

Check this link for full details.

http://www.geonet.org.nz/latest.html

Reference Number: 2699766/G
NZ Time: Wednesday, February 21 2007 at 9:00 pm
Latitude, Longitude: 36.55°S, 175.02°E
Focal Depth: 15 km
Richter magnitude: 4.5
Region: Auckland Volcanic