Peter Griffin • Nov 14, 2016 •
I’ve experienced a lot of earthquakes in my eleven years in Wellington, but nothing as scary as last night’s quake which lasted for over a minute and shook people out of bed all in the Capital and all over the country. *latest quake and aftershock updates are available on Geonet. As I write this at … Read More
Guest Work • Sep 18, 2016 •
Mark Quigley, University of Melbourne and Josh Borella, University of Canterbury Earthquakes (including the tsunamis they generate) are Earth’s most fatal natural hazard, accounting for approximately 55% of the more than 1.35 million disaster deaths in the last two decades. The US Geological Survey predicts that more than 2.5 million people will die from … Read More
John Kerr • Sep 06, 2016 •
New research has offered a glimpse into the inner workings of one of the most dangerous results of volcanic eruptions – pyroclastic flows. “They are basically mixtures of hot volcanic particles and gas that race down the flank of a volcano to destroy everything its path,” says Dr Gert Lube from Massey University, describing these volcanic juggernauts. He and his … Read More
Guest Work • Jun 30, 2016 •
by Dr Benjamin Moorhouse Recent heightened volcanic activity from Ruapehu has resulted in GNS scientists raising both the Volcanic Alert Level (VAL) from level 1 to 2 and the Aviation Colour Code from green to yellow. But what does this mean? The NZ Volcanic Alert Level system ranges from level 0 to 5 with level 2 being defined … Read More
Peter Griffin • Feb 22, 2016 •
Five years after the biggest disaster in modern New Zealand, experts who were involved in communicating the science of the quakes share their experiences and thoughts. At 12:51pm on the 22nd of February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city of Christchurch. The disaster killed 185 people and caused billions of dollars of damage. Read More
Waiology • May 10, 2013 •
By Martin Doyle The rainstorm near Nelson on 21 April, 2013, was one of the most intense ever measured in New Zealand, and caused considerable flooding through urban Stoke and Richmond. Just 18 months prior, another storm also caused significant damage to the same area. It would be tempting to draw parallels between the two storms, but in fact they … Read More
Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 02, 2010 •
Man, what a week! We are most proud and yayfull to be introducing our second new blog this wee: Shaken Not Stirred (first post up in about 15 minutes). To be penned by Jesse Dykstra, who’s down south at Canterbury University, it’ll be focusing on natural hazards. Of which New Zealand … Read More
Daniel Collins • Mar 12, 2010 •
From flooded elephant research sites to flooded zoos… Back in January heavy rains flooded a private zoo in Plavinca, Montenegro. 2-ton and 11-year old hippopotamus Nikica flew the coop by swimming over her submerged cage. The natural disasters commission wasn’t happy, and thought they might be able to shoot her. The state veterinary authorities thought otherwise, saying she … Read More
Daniel Collins • Mar 10, 2010 •
A few days before the Save the Elephant research site was washed away by a flash flood, villages along on the western flank of Mt Elgon were hit by landslides, killing at least 100. Minister David Wakikona, MP for Manjiya County in Bududa district, said “Everybody is dead. 320 people are unaccounted for. I don’t … Read More
Daniel Collins • Mar 08, 2010 •
The Save the Elephants research camp in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, was hit by a flash flood on Thursday. No-one was killed, but according to STE the site was severely damaged and much research lost. “At approximately 5am this morning, a wall of water akin to a Tsunami surged through Elephant Watch Camp, catching tourists and staff unawares and … Read More