• Earthquake swarm in the Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

    The GeoNet earthquake monitoring network has recorded a small swarm of earthquakes at Lake Taupō, New Zealand over the last 2 to 3 weeks. Lake Taupō is a large caldera volcano, a special type of volcano that has rare but unusually large eruptions.

  • Seismovolcanic crisis continues at São Jorge Island, Azores – 33 000 earthquakes in 2 months

    The seismovolcanic crisis at the Manadas volcanic fissure system in the NW part of São Jorge Island, Azores has entered its third month. A notable change in seismicity was reported on April 6, when volcano-tectonic earthquakes were detected, suggesting the movement of magma at depth. The last confirmed eruption of this volcano took place in 1808 (VEI 1). 

  • Damaging tornado rips through Levin, New Zealand

    A damaging tornado hit the town of Levin, New Zealand’s North Island on May 20, 2022, causing widespread damage and injuring several people. New Zealand’s Met Service recorded a wind gust of 140 km/h (86 mph) in the town but at the time of press, it was still not able to determine whether it was indeed a tornado that caused the damage, or a thunderstorm collapsing on itself.