By JO-MARIE BROWN
TAUPO - A series of early morning shakes has left many nervous Taupo residents wondering if a big earthquake is on the way.
Yesterday's tremor, which hit at 8.25 am, measured 3.7 on the Richter scale.
It was the third wakeup call the region has experienced in five days.
Seismologist Dr Terry Webb, of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, said earthquakes measuring 2.6 and 2.2 were recorded on Wednesday morning.
Yesterday's quake, centred 10km northwest of Taupo, felt particularly strong because it was close to the Earth's surface, he said.
"In the volcanic zone, the Earth's crust is quite thin.
"So if you get a shallow earthquake like this one, it's felt quite sharply and gives people a firm jolt," he said.
Dr Webb said there had been a lot of seismic activity in the region over recent months, but the chance that the latest rumbles would lead to a bigger quake was minimal.
"There's a 2 to 4 per cent chance that these are foreshocks."
However, he said, "while that's reasonably low, you can't rule out the possibility that something bigger will happen."
Tremors hard on nerves
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