Guest Author • Mar 27, 2017 •
By Stephen Hicks, University of Southampton No one could have expected what was to hit New Zealand in 2016. The country is certainly no stranger to being shaken up by moving tectonic plates. Yet on November 14 2016, it was struck by what may be the most complex rupture ever recorded, overshadowing even the highly destructive sequence of … Read More
Guest Author • Nov 15, 2016 •
Brendan Duffy, University of Melbourne and Mark Quigley, University of Melbourne At least two people have died in the magnitide 7.5 earthquake that struck New Zealand’s South Island early on Monday, local time. Preliminary modelling suggests that the earthquake was caused by a rupture of a northeast-striking fault that projects to the surface … Read More
John Kerr • Nov 14, 2016 •
In the aftermath of this morning’s 7.5-magnitude earthquake there has been a solid effort by researchers and authorities to provide timely information to an understandably worried New Zealand public. The most up-to-date source of information on the situation is GeoNet, which is providing updates on aftershock sequences and likelihood estimates of future scenarios. In the most recent news update on the GeoNet … Read More
John Kerr • Aug 24, 2016 •
The dust is still settling in the wake of the tragic 6.1 earthquake that struck near Norcia in central Italy. Latest reports indicate that at least 38 people died in the quake which has caused widespread damage in Norcia and nearby towns [Update: the death toll is now estimated to be 159 lives lost]. ShakeMap Intensity image from the … Read More
Guest Author • May 20, 2015 •
Dr. Caroline Orchiston writes about May 18th 2015 – the 35th Commemoration of the St Helens eruption, 1980. It is 35 years since the eruption of Mt St Helens in Washington State, USA. By chance, David Johnston and I are here conducting some tsunami hazard field work. Once the work is done, we head inland into the Cascade … Read More
Peter Griffin • Apr 12, 2012 •
People living along the coast of Indonesia and indeed around the fringes of the Indian Ocean will have had a spine-tingling moment last night as they felt the vibrations from the magnitude 8.6 earthquake that struck off the west coast of Northern Sumatra. Source: USGS Many will have had flashbacks to 2004, and the Boxing Day tsunami, … Read More
Peter Griffin • Aug 17, 2010 •
As NIWA faced a scurrilous legal challenge over its climate data yesterday, its scientists were getting on with business, releasing details of the partial collapse of an undersea volcano in New Zealand waters. As the Herald reports: A volcanic cone on Rumble III, 200km northeast of Auckland, had crumbled. The volcano’s highest point had dropped 90m further below … Read More