Guest Author • Oct 02, 2018 •
Simon Lamb, Victoria University of Wellington It was a few minutes past midnight on 14 November 2016, and I was drifting into sleep in Wellington, New Zealand, when a sudden jolt began rocking the bed violently back and forth. I knew immediately this was a big one. In fact, I had just experienced the magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Nov 20, 2013 •
The central section of the Alpine Fault (Source: wiki.gns.cri.nz) This post is the first of two articles which explore the potential impacts of the next great earthquake on the Alpine Fault and consider how prepared New Zealand is for that event. This builds on a previous post which describes the physical properties of the Alpine Fault in more detail. Improved Understanding of Earthquake Hazards in New Zealand … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Jul 22, 2013 •
Recent Seismic Activity Beneath Cook Strait Over the past three days, earthquakes have been rattling central New Zealand, with the epicentres of many of the tremors between Seddon and Wellington. According to GNS, the largest earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5, and was located beneath Cook Strait at a … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • May 28, 2013 •
Modeled Earthquake Shaking Intensities for New Zealand. Zone of maximum shaking along Alpine Fault indicated by red band.Source: http://blog.teara.govt.nz The Alpine Fault will rupture in the near future (quite possibly in your lifetime), without any prior warning. When it does, the scale of the immediate disaster will be unprecedented in New Zealand, and secondary effects will probably continue … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Aug 30, 2011 •
eqc.govt.nz How Has the EQC Performed Following the Canterbury Earthquakes? How would the EQC cope, when faced with the monumental task of managing nearly 400,000 claims from two major events in close succession? That was always going to be a tall order. Nearly one year on from the Greendale fault rupture, what can we say about the EQCs performance? Unsurprisingly, … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Jun 21, 2011 •
I really appreciated this article by John McCrone of the Press. It’s clearly written, summarizes much of the information to date, and considers the scientific perspective as well as that of the overall community. Article here: … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Jun 01, 2011 •
Wellington Faults. Source: GNS Science CERA Meeting Scares Media Some media outlets have put a rather negative spin on GNS Science’s most recent earthquake forecast for the central Canterbury region, which was discussed at a recent meeting of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). GNS’s latest forecasting model estimates the probability of a “large” (magnitude 6.0 to 6.9) event occurring … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Jan 27, 2011 •
Source: The Press In a recent Press Opinion piece, earthquake and tectonic expert Dr. Kevin Furlong explained the distribution of aftershocks following the Darfield earthquake, and why we shouldn’t be surprised by what we have learned, and felt, so far. His article can be viewed by clicking the following link: Dr Furlong, Opinion piece. Kevin Furlong is a Professor of Geosciences at Penn … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Oct 12, 2010 •
The Story of Kaiapoi (Continued) Photo: Jesse Dykstra On one particularly hard-hit Kaiapoi street, I spoke to a resident who expressed an increasingly sense of helplessness as aftershocks continued to tear his home apart. His family feared that they would be unable to live in their home for much longer. Others in the neighborhood spoke of frustration that they had not yet received any … Read More
Jesse Dykstra • Oct 08, 2010 •
Not a Memory Yet Photo: Jesse Dykstra It has now been over 4 weeks since the Darfield earthquake rocked Canterbury, yet aftershocks continue to terrorize the region. Monday night, a magnitude 5 aftershock (the largest since Sept 8th) rattled Christchurch, and early this morning a magnitude 4.4 rumble served notice that the Greendale fault has not yet finished … Read More