Christchurch Earthquake - 1000 days later

2010 Canterbury earthquake

Earthquake in New Zealand

The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake)^[7] struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1^[1][2] at 4:35 am local time on 4 September, and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.^[1] Some damaging aftershocks followed the main event, the strongest of which was a magnitude 6.3 shock known as the Christchurch earthquake that occurred nearly six months later on 22 February 2011.^[8] Because this aftershock was centred very close to Christchurch, it was much more destructive and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.^[9]

The earthquake on 4 September caused widespread damage and several power outages, particularly in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city at that time.^[6][10] Two residents were seriously injured, one by a collapsing chimney and a second by flying glass.^[6][11] One person died of a heart attack^[12] and another from a fall.^[13] Mass fatalities were avoided partly due to there being few houses of unreinforced construction, although this was also aided by the quake occurring during the early hours of the morning when most people were off the street.^[14][15]

The earthquake's epicentre was 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Christchurch, close to the town of Darfield.^[16] The hypocentre was at a depth of 10 km.^[1] A foreshock of roughly magnitude 5.8 hit five seconds before the main quake,^[17] and strong aftershocks were reported,^[6][18] up to magnitude 5.4.^[19] The quake was felt as lasting up to 40 seconds,^[10] and was felt widely across the South Island, and in the North Island as far north as New Plymouth.^[20] As the epicentre was on land away from the coast, no tsunami occurred.^[16]

The National Crisis Management Centre in the basement of the Beehive in Wellington was activated, and Civil Defence declared a state of emergency for Christchurch, the Selwyn District, and the Waimakariri District, while Selwyn District, Waimakariri and Timaru activated their emergency operation centres.^[21] Initially, a curfew was established for parts of Christchurch Central City from 7 pm to 7 am in response to the earthquake. The New Zealand Army was deployed to the worst affected areas in Canterbury.^[11]

Insurance claims totalled between NZ$2.75 and $3.5 billion,^[22] although it is unclear how much cost can be attributed to each of the earthquake events in the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence. The total estimated damage bill was up to $40 billion, making it the fifth-biggest insurance event in the world since 1953.^[23]

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "New Zealand earthquake report – Sep 4, 2010 at 04:35 (NZST)". GeoNet. Earthquake Commission and GNS Science. 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Magnitude 7.0 – South Island of New Zealand: Details". United States Geological Survey. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
3. ^ "Canterbury Quake Live". Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference HCarter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ "Canterbury Quake live". Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Massive 7.4 quake hits South Island". Stuff. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
7. ^ Quigley, M.; Dissen, R. Van; Litchfield, N.; Villamor, P.; Duffy, B.; Barrell, D.; Furlong, K.; Stahl, T.; Bilderback, E. (2012). "Surface rupture during the 2010 Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake: Implications for fault rupture dynamics and seismic-hazard analysis". Geology. 40 (1): 55–58. Bibcode:2012Geo....40...55Q. doi:10.1130/G32528.1. ISSN 0091-7613.
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference 6.3 quake was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ "Christchurch quake latest updates". stuff.co.nz. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
10. ^ ^{a b} "Strong earthquake rocks New Zealand's South Island". BBC News. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
11. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference curfew was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. ^ "September 2010 Canterbury (Darfield) earthquake". Retrieved 24 October 2021.
13. ^ Abeling, S.; Horspool, N.; Johnston, D.; Dizhur, D.; Wilson, N.; Clement, C.; Ingham, J. (2020). "Patterns of earthquake-related mortality at a whole-country level: New Zealand, 1840–2017". Earthquake Spectra. 36 (1): 138–163. Bibcode:2020EarSp..36..138A. doi:10.1177/8755293019878190. S2CID 203996710.
14. ^ "Strict codes behind 'miracle'". The Straits Times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. 5 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Few casualties was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
16. ^ ^{a b} "M 7.2 Darfield (Canterbury) Sat, Sep 4 2010: Story". GeoNet. GNS Science. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
17. ^ New Zealand Press Association (4 September 2010). "Canterbury earthquake really three quakes?". Stuff. Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
18. ^ Kanalley, Craig (3 September 2010). "New Zealand Earthquake 2010: Strong Quake Shakes Christchurch". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
19. ^ "New Zealand Earthquake Report – Sep 4 2010 at 4:55 pm (NZST)". GeoNet. Earthquake Commission and GNS Science. 4 September 2010. Archived from the original on 7 September 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
20. ^ Van Der Heide, Maike (4 September 2010). "Marlborough, Kaikoura escape worst of quake". The Marlborough Express. Fairfax New Zealand. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
21. ^ "Latest updates: Canterbury earthquake | National News". Television New Zealand. Archived from the original on 6 September 2010. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
22. ^ Benett, Adam (2 March 2011). "could deal with another big one". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
23. ^ "Four years on: Insurance and the Canterbury Earthquakes" (PDF). Deloitte Access Economics. February 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.

Read More

 

2011 Christchurch earthquake

February 2011 earthquake in New Zealand

"Christchurch earthquake" redirects here. For other uses, see Christchurch earthquake (disambiguation).

For the aftershock that occurred on 13 June 2011, see June 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February).^[2][10] The M_w6.2 (M_L6.3) earthquake struck the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi) south-east of the central business district.^[11] It caused widespread damage across Christchurch, killing 185 people^[7][8] in New Zealand's fifth-deadliest disaster.

Christchurch's central city and eastern suburbs were badly affected, with damage to buildings and infrastructure already weakened by the magnitude 7.1 Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010 and its aftershocks. Significant liquefaction affected the eastern suburbs, producing around 400,000 tonnes of silt. The earthquake was felt across the South Island and parts of the lower and central North Island. While the initial quake only lasted for approximately 10 seconds, the damage was severe because of the location and shallowness of the earthquake's focus in relation to Christchurch as well as previous quake damage. Subsequent population loss saw the Christchurch main urban area fall behind the Wellington equivalent, to decrease from second- to third-most populous area in New Zealand. Adjusted for inflation, the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes caused over $44.8 billion in damages, making it New Zealand's costliest natural disaster and the 21st-most-expensive disaster in history.^[12][13][14]

1. ^ ^{a b} "M 6.1 – South Island of New Zealand". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
2. ^ ^{a b} "M 6.2 Christchurch Tue, Feb 22 2011: Technical". GeoNet. GNS Science. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
3. ^ Goto, Hiroyuki; Kaneko, Yoshihiro; Naguit, Muriel; Young, John (5 January 2021). "Records of Extreme Ground Accelerations during the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake Sequence Contaminated by a Nonlinear, Soil–Structure Interaction". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 111 (2): 704–722. Bibcode:2021BuSSA.111..704G. doi:10.1785/0120200337. S2CID 233531749.
4. ^ "Deadly Christchurch quake's record ground-shaking lower than first thought". Stuff. 15 February 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
5. ^ "Ice breaks off glacier after Christchurch quake". ABC News. 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
6. ^ "Earthquake causes glacier to calve". Stuff.co.nz. 23 February 2011. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Official quake toll rises to 185". Stuff.co. 9 February 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
8. ^ ^{a b} "List of deceased – Christchurch earthquake". New Zealand Police. 8 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
9. ^ "Earthquake death toll reaches 113". Stuff. 25 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
10. ^ "M 6.2 Christchurch Tue, Feb 22 2011: Details". GeoNet. GNS Science. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
11. ^ "M 6.1 – South Island of New Zealand: Regional information". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
12. ^ "Christchurch rebuild to cost $10b more – Story – Politics – 3 News". 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
13. ^ Rosanes, Mark. "New Zealand's costliest natural disasters in the past decade". www.insurancebusinessmag.com. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
14. ^ "The Canterbury rebuild five years on from the Christchurch earthquake" (PDF). Reserve Bank of New Zealand. February 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2024.

Read More

 

Related Thread:
Postural stability during an earthquake
New Zealand Earthquake
Haitian Earthquake