Small quakes under lake

Taupo: A swarm of 84 small earthquakes has softly shaken Lake Taupo over the past three weeks.

GeoNet has recorded 84 small quakes under the lake since April 28, at depths of 7km16km.

Only two have been over 3 on the Richter scale.

The earthquakes are in two groupings — one cluster in the middle of the lake and one along the eastern shore.

GeoNet said quake swarms were common in the area and several were recorded each year.

‘‘Larger ones have lasted weeks to months and can include many hundreds of earthquakes.’’

There have more than 4200 tremors under Lake Taupo in the past 10 years. — RNZ