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EarthquakeHawke'sBayEmergencyManagementGroup

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Hazards(/hazards)>Earthquake(/hazards/earthquake)

EARTHQUAKES
RISK
HawkesBayisoneofthemostseismicallyactiveregionsofNewZealandandinthe160yearssince
substantialwrittenrecordsbegan,severallargeanddamagingearthquakeshaveoccurred.Mostnotablythe
earthquakeof1931changedthelandscape,thecitiesandhasremainedaprominentfeatureinHawkesBays
livingmemory.HawkesBayexperiencesmanysmallerearthquakeseachyear,butanotherlargeearthquake
canoccuratanytime.
Nationalseismichazardmodelfor2010showingpeakgroundaccelerationexpectedwitha475yearreturn
period
LOCATION
HawkesBayislocatedontheAustralianPlate,about150kmwestoftheHikurangiTrough,whichmarksthe
subductionboundarybetweenthePacificandAustralianPlates.Atthislatitude,thePacificplateisplunging
beneaththeAustralianplateatabout42mm/year.
HawkesBayislocatedontheAustralianPlate,about150kmwestoftheHikurangiTrough.

http://www.cdemhawkesbay.govt.nz/hazards/earthquake

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HawkesBaylocationabovethesubductioninterfacemeansthatitiswithinazoneofhighdeformation,andasa
consequencehasmanyearthquakes.Theseearthquakescancausegroundshaking,liquefaction,surfacerupture,
lateralspreadandothergrounddamage,regionalsubsidenceorupliftalongwithtsunami,landslidesand
rockfalls.LearnmoreabouttheseearthquakehazardsatGNSScience
(http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/ScienceTopics/Earthquakes).

Hawke'sBaysitsabovethesubductionzonewherethePacificPlateismovingundertheAustralianPlate
FAULTS
Afaultlineisafracturealongwhichtheearthscrusthasmoved.TherearenumerousactivefaultsinHawke'sBayonshoreandoffshore.Manyare
surfacefaultswherearupturethatinitiatedatdepthhasbrokenthroughtothesurfaceandleftavisiblefaulttrace.Othersareburiedor'blind'
faultsthatslipatdepthbutdonotrupturetothegroundsurface,sothesearehardertorecognise.TheActiveFaultMapshowsgeneralisedtraces
ofactivesurfacefaultsintheHawke'sBayregion.Activefaultsarethosefaultsthathavemovedwithinthelast125,000years.Whilenosurface

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tracesofactivefaultshavebeenmappedintheNapierandHastingscityareas,thisisbecausehistoric
floodsanddevelopmenthavecoveredthemover.Scientistsbelievebothcitieshave'buriedorblind
faultsourcesincludingthelargefaultsourcethatcausedtheHawkesBayearthquakeof1931,butthey
arecurrentlyunabletomapthem.ThesubductioninterfacebetweentheAustralianandPacificplatesis
thelargestoffshorefaultinourregion.
LIQUEFACTION
Liquefactionoccurswhenwaterloggedsedimentsareagitatedbyanearthquake.Buildingscansinkand
undergroundpipesmayrisetothesurface.Whentheshakingstops,groundwaterissqueezedoutofthe
groundcausingflooding,whichcanleaveareascoveredinmud.HawkesBayhasseveralareaswith
sedimentofhighliquefactionsusceptibilityandnumerousearthquakesourcescapableofgeneratingan
earthquakelargeenoughtocauseliquefaction,andtherewerenumerousreportsofliquefaction
followingthe1931earthquake.
Lowlyingareasintheregion,especiallythosenearthecoast,andreclaimedlandareparticularly
susceptible.LiquefactionsusceptibilitymapsforHawke'sBayandNapier/HastingscompletedbyGNS
Sciencein1996.
Basedonanationalseismicmodelshownabove,scientistshaveestimatedHawkesBaymightexperiencethefollowingshakingintensitiesfor
differentreturnperiodsinthefuture.Ourrisksincludeearthquakepronebuildingswhichhavebeenidentifiedwithinourmaincities&towns,and
althoughresidentialdwellingsareconsideredalowrisk,damagemaybewidespreadrequiringrehousing.Infrastructurenetworksarealsoatrisk
andtherearealsoriskstoourfuturesocialandeconomicwellbeing.TheHawkesBayCDEMistheleadagencyformanaginganynaturalhazard
event,likealargeearthquakethatbadlyaffectsthepeopleofHawkesBay.

http://www.cdemhawkesbay.govt.nz/hazards/earthquake

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HISTORY
InthepastmostmoderatetolargeearthquakesinHawke'sBayhavebeenonshallow(<45kmdeep)
faults,butafew,suchastheJune1921HawkesBayearthquake,werecausedbyruptureatgreater
depths.ThelargesthistoricalearthquakesaffectingHawkesBayarelistedinthisTable.
HISTORICALEARTHQUAKESMAGNITUDE>7ANDFELTMMINTENSITIESOF7ORGREATER

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YoucanfindoutmoreabouttheseearthquakesonGeonet(http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/Earthquake)

http://www.cdemhawkesbay.govt.nz/hazards/earthquake

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CleaningupaftertheHastings5.9earthquakeon25August2008(PhotocourtesyofHBToday)
WHATCANYOUDO?
MostpeopleinHawkesBaywillsurvivealargeearthquakewithsomeloss,butsomepeoplewillbeseverelyaffected.Actionyoutakenowcan
helpreducedamagetoyourhomeandbusinessandhelpyousurvive.PracticeDrop,CoverandHoldandlearnmorehere
(http://www.getthru.govt.nz/disasters/earthquake/)
MISLEADINGADVICE'TRIANGLEOFLIFE'
ThereisanemailcirculatedbyaselfprofessedrescueexpertsuggestingearthquakeadvicecontradictorytowhatCivilDefenceandtheNZ
EarthquakeEngineeringSocietyrecommends.AlthoughdiscreditedintheUS,whereitoriginated,theadvicecontinuestoresurfacecausing
confusionaboutwhattodo,whichcanresultinpeoplegettingseriouslyinjuredorkilledinanearthquake.Ifyouwanttoknowmoreaboutwhy
the'TriangleofLife'isnotthebestadviceyoucanvisittheUSARedCrosswebsiteresponse(http://www2.bpaonline.org/Emergencyprep/arcon
dougcopp.html)

CASESTUDY:1931Hawke'sBayearthquake(/hazards/earthquake/1931)

http://www.cdemhawkesbay.govt.nz/hazards/earthquake

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