M6.9 or 7 South Island New Zealand
Posted by heartland chris on October 15, 2007 at 06:56:37:

There was just a M6.9 or 7.0 on the SW corner of the south Island of New Zealand. This is in the area of the Alpine Fault, which is a right-lateral oblique reverse plate boundary: it is a non-vertical fault. The focal mechanism is not available on the USGS page yet: might be interesting. Will it be a strike-slip quake on a non-vertical fault, an oblique slip quake on non-vertical fault, or something else? I don't think a lot of people (or, anyone?) live in that area, so might be light on damage.
Speculation follows: could there be any link to the large quakes on the same plate boundary to the south (west of Aukland Islands) that occurred a couple/few weeks ago?
Chris