A Facebook post warning of a possible earthquake triggered by the ‘Supermoon’ has been shared thousands of times in recent hours, following the 7.8-magnitude tremor that rocked New Zealand.
With the moon closer to Earth than it has been in decades, the message – sent by Nigel Antony Gray – warned that the increased gravitational pull could trigger a ‘major earthquake’ in the South Pacific area.
Gray, a New Zealand native, also warned that a recent earthquake in Italy was also a sign that an earthquake at the opposite side of the globe was likely. He wrote:
‘There was a recent large earthquake in Italy and as when one plate shifts it places stress on other plates, the chances of a big quake are higher for something down this end of the globe.
According to the Daily Mail, the post has since been deleted, although he appears to have posted the same message elsewhere on Facebook, as seen on the screenshot below.
Striking at just after midnight on Monday, the country’s South Island has seen hundreds more tremors and a further 6.3-magnitude quake in the hours since and two people have been killed.
The epicentre for the quake is said to be north east of Christchurch, near the town of Kaikoura, which has now been cut off by landslides.
