Why does wellington experience earthquakes

In the Hutt Valley, Arthur Ludlam reported that the first shock lifted his house clean off the ground and shook it from side to side before it came crashing down. On Lambton Quay, Baron von Alzdolf was killed when his house of brick, one of the very few brick structures in Wellington, collapsed in on him. Wellington had just been struck by the most devastating earthquake since human occupation began.

Though the earthquake was the most dramatic earthquake ever recorded in Wellington, many larger and smaller quakes have had a role in shaping our geography, our building practices, the lay-out of our city, and our social history.

They have even led to the creation of urban myths - such as how until , ships used to sail up what is now Kent and Cambridge Terrace, to dock at what is today the Basin Reserve. Wellington is prone to earthquakes because it rests on the point where two tectonic plates meet. Kilometres beneath Wellington the light, thick Australian plate rides over the heavier, but thinner Pacific plate.

These plate movements have resulted in three major fault-lines running either through or very close to Wellington City - the Ohariu Fault , the Wairarapa Fault , and the Wellington Fault.

Read more about Fire Following Earthquake. In modern homes, doorways are no stronger than any other part of the structure and usually have doors that can swing and injure you. Drop, cover and hold is recommended for New Zealand buildings. The Wellington region has been subject to a number of large earthquakes in the past years. The earthquake caused damage to the city including uplift of the harbour, a tsunami in the Wellington harbour and numerous landslides around the region.

In the Wairarapa was shaken by a magnitude 7. In two earthquakes measuring 6. These earthquakes caused some damage to buildings in Wellington City and around the region. On 14 November a complex magnitude 7. These earthquakes caused damage to buildings in Wellington City, Hutt City and around the region. Frequency of earthquakes. The Wellington region is regularly shaken by small and medium-sized earthquakes.

A large or very large earthquake on a fault in the region would result in deaths, injuries and considerable disruption to lifelines and infrastructure. The earthquake raised the Wellington coastline by up to 1. A result of this newly-raised land was that the shipping basin planned for the city was abandoned and the land was used for a cricket ground instead - the Basin Reserve.

Swamps partly dried out as a result of the quake. They were later fully drained and the reclaimed land was built on. Large landslips had swept down the sides of the Rimutaka Ranges, and there were gaping fissures cracks in the Wairarapa Plain, some up to 5 metres deep. It was realised that the wooden buildings built after the earthquake had stood up to the shaking better than other constructions.

When Wellington was rebuilt the main commercial buildings in the city were built of brick because of the fire risk of a wooden building, but most of the homes were rebuilt in timber. Skip to main navigation Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to search Skip to content.

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