Seddon residents with a 'bit of a fright' as 5.6-magnitude earthquake strikes

Monday, 21 February 2022

A magnitude-5.6 earthquake has hit 30km south-west of Seddon, in South Marlborough.

The quake struck just after 4pm on Monday, at a depth of 30km.

It was felt from Kaitaia to Dunedin, with people near the epicentre feeling a massive jolt.

Seddon residents Terry and Karen Renner said they heard the earthquake before they felt it.

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“We did get a bit of a fright. We were outside, standing out the back and we heard a massive bang,” Karen Renner said. “We’ve got a big shed up the back and that’s what really shook.

“We looked at the truck and it was rocking and rolling.”

Did you feel the earthquake? Email jennifer.eder@stuff.co.nz

But nothing had been broken, she said. She was waiting for aftershocks but hadn’t noticed any.

“The TV is still standing, so everything’s OK.

The Renners had lived through lots of major quakes, with Seddon being on a fault line that ran up the Awatere Valley.

That included the 2013 Seddon earthquake and the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, both causing damage to the house that needed repairs.

“Well we thought it couldn't have been too big. Normally if there’s a big one people all come outside their houses, gather on the street, in the township. We all make sure our neighbours are OK.”

Her husband Terry Renner was off to check for damage at the rugby clubrooms.