Earthquakes
Earthquakes are never far from our thoughts in Christchurch. New Zealand is positioned on the boundary of the Australian and the Pacific tectonic plates. It is movement in these tectonic plates – huge chunks of the earth’s crust – that cause earthquakes. Earthquakes at sea can cause tsunami.
This page lists many sources of information about earthquakes in general. We have detailed information about the Christchurch and Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 elsewhere.
Measuring earthquakes
The strength of earthquakes is measured as magnitude on the Richter scale, named after Charles Richter, 1900 – 1985. The Modified Mercalli intensity scale measures the intensity of earthquakes based on what can be felt and observed by people and is considered a better indicator of the effects of an earthquake.
For more information about earthquakes
Internet Gateway
- Earthquakes - information on earthquakes and seismic activity in New Zealand from Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- GNS Science including the earthquake FAQ
- New Zealand Earthquake Commission
- Volcanoes and Earthquakes images from the Nasa Earth Observatory
- How earthquakes happen - animated guide from the BBC News website
- more earthquake websites
Browse the resources in our libraries
- Earthquakes – general
- New Zealand earthquakes
- Earthquake engineering
- Seismology
- Tectonics
- Natural disasters
Earthquakes in the news
Earthquakes are common news items because of their unpredictability and because of the damage and devastation they can cause.
- 2011 Tohoku Japan Earthquake and tsunami - a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami which devasted coastal areas of Japan on 20 March, 2011.
Earthquakes in New Zealand
Between 10,000 and 15,000 earthquakes are recorded in New Zealand annually, and approximately 140 to 150 are large enough to be felt by humans.
- Our earthquake recovery page.
- More detailed information about the Canterbury earthquakes.
- Christchurch newspaper articles about earthquakes
Be prepared
- Get thru – Civil Defence website
- Civil Defence Emergency Management from the Christchurch City Council
- Civil defence meeting points and organisations from CINCH
New Zealand earthquake data
GNS Science – has more details of earthquake data in New Zealand as well as a comprehensive frequently-asked-questions page.
GeoNet is a collaboration between the Earthquake Commission and GNS Science. It features a map showing near real–time shaking intensity from New Zealand's network of seismographs.
Fiordland earthquake: Wednesday 15 July 2009
The 2009 earthquake in Fiordland, which was originally reported as 6.6 on the Richter scale but was later revised to a 7.8, was at 9:22pm Wednesday 15 July 2009. This earthquake was widely felt in the South Island and as far north as Taranaki. An aftershock of Richter magnitude 6.1 was recorded at 9:41pm and more aftershocks were registered later.
Stuff.co.nz reported that a tsunami warning had been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii soon after the quake struck. That warning was later cancelled. Civil Defence reported a 17cm wave at Jacksons Bay on the West Coast.
Read more:
- Strong earthquake rattles South Island - The Press, Stuff
- Magnitude 7.8 quake hits Southland - Stuff
- Geologists to keep watch after big quake - Otago Daily Times
- Factbox: New Zealand’s biggest earthquakes - TVNZ
