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60-610: The Hope Fault is an active dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault in the northeastern part of South Island , New Zealand . It forms part of the Marlborough fault system , which accommodates the transfer of displacement along the oblique convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian plate and Pacific plate , from the transform Alpine Fault to the Hikurangi Trough subduction zone . The Hope Fault branches off from

120-627: A P-3 Orion and a C-130 Hercules to survey and provide essential emergency supplies to the most severely affected areas around Kaikōura. Kaikoura Aerodrome was too small to take larger multi-engine aircraft so the landing was limited to helicopters and small aircraft. The Royal New Zealand Navy 's multi-role vessel HMNZS  Canterbury and off-shore patrol vessel HMNZS  Wellington were deployed to Kaikōura to provide aid supplies and evacuate people. HMCS  Vancouver , HMAS  Darwin and USS  Sampson , in New Zealand waters for

180-582: A 1.5   m rise measured on the gauge, and a rise of about 1   m of the gauge itself, as the seabed and surrounding land rose by that amount. Some other tide gauges that recorded the tsunami were in Wellington Harbour, Castlepoint , Christchurch , and the Chatham Islands . A tsunami estimated at five metres high struck the north-facing Little Pigeon Bay on Banks Peninsula . The bay contained only one building, an unoccupied holiday house that

240-516: A basin to form. The hot springs of Hanmer Springs are one of the results of the basin formation. Other smaller basins of similar type have formed at minor offsets along the Hope River segment. The basin began to form in the Pleistocene and contains more than 1000 m of sedimentary fill in the main depocenter . The eastern end of the basin is currently being deformed by transpression associated with

300-621: A classic fashion for about 40 km (25 mi) of this fault equivalent to about a M w  7.0 event. This area of the South Island does not have the Pacific plate subducting at the Hikurangi Margin , which commences at Kaikōura to the north east of the Humps Fault. Further a rupture of the Humps Fault, as occurred, is not predicted by any classic modelling to propagate to allow rupture in

360-468: A maximum run-up height above tide level at the time of the tsunami of 6.9   m ±   0.3   m. At Oaro , the height was 5.3   m ±   0.3   m. Marine and freshwater flora and fauna were later found scattered across the Oaro River flood plain, extending 250 metres (820 ft) inland from the high tide mark on the day of the survey. Immediately after the earthquake, the tide level at

420-567: Is 310–490 yr. The Hope River segment runs about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the confluence of the Boyle and Hope rivers as far as the Hanmer Basin. From the offset of dated river terraces, a late Holocene horizontal slip-rate of about 10 millimetres (0.39 in)/yr and a vertical slip-rate of about 0.6 mm/yr have been calculated for this segment. The displacement is thought to have occurred by repeated slips which, if similar to that which caused

480-553: Is employed with other factors to determine the potential earthquake hazard. The geologic conditions and plate tectonic setting in much of the Western U.S. has resulted in the region being underlain by relatively thin crust and having high heat flow, both of which can favor relatively high deformation rates and active faulting. In contrast, in the Central and Eastern U.S. (CEUS) the crust is thicker, colder, older, and more stable. Furthermore,

540-426: The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake could have been associated with coupling of a shallow subduction megathrust earthquake with surface faults in the overlaying plate as happened in this second phase. The third phase involved classic propagation via northeast shallow crustal strike-slip faulting in the north east Kekerengu and Needles faults. A peak ground acceleration of 3.23   g

600-724: The Hope River , which follows the trace of much of the Hope River segment. The junction between the Hope fault and the Alpine Fault is complex. The Kelly Fault forms a major splay of the Hope Fault from just west of Harper Pass; it splays again to the west into the Newton and Hura faults. From repeat GPS surveying on the region near Arthur's Pass , the Kelly Fault marks a sharp reduction in velocities to

660-631: The Inland Kaikōura Road were closed longer. The closure of SH1, the Inland Kaikōura Road and the Main North Line railway effectively cut off all land routes into Kaikōura. On the morning of 19 November, Kaikōura remained cut off by road due to landslides, damaged bridges and infrastructure, road subsidence, and the risk of falling debris. The NZ Transport Agency said that State Highway 1 would take months to repair, while repairs to

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720-495: The 1888 earthquake, indicate a return period of about 140 years. The Conway segment is the longest and straightest of the segments with a strike of about N73°E. It extends 70 kilometres (43 mi) from the eastern part of the Hanmer Basin to just west of the junction with the Jordan Thrust near Kowhai River. The slip-rate for this segment, estimated from offset alluvial features, is about 23 mm/yr. The fault dips steeply to

780-674: The 2016 quake. As of March 2023, the building has been gutted and strengthened and is expected to reopen in 2026. Demolition of the Civic Administration Building in Te Ngākau Civic Square started in April 2024. Several houses in the coastal suburb of New Brighton in Christchurch were looted after the occupants left because of tsunami risk. Schools and universities across the region were told to remain closed until

840-452: The Alpine Fault south of Hokitika and then runs in a nearly straight line for about 230 kilometres (140 mi) to the east coast of South Island just north of Kaikōura , with an offshore continuation of at least 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). It consists of several segments, from the southwest end, the Kelly Fault, then the Hurunui, Hope River, Conway and Seaward segments. It takes its name from

900-570: The CEUS is thousands of miles from active plate boundaries, so the rates of deformation are low in this region. Nevertheless, the CEUS has had some rather large earthquakes in historical times, including a series of major earthquakes near New Madrid, Missouri in 1811–1812 , a large earthquake near Charleston, South Carolina in 1886, and the Cape Ann earthquake northeast of Boston in 1755. 2016 Kaik%C5%8Dura earthquake The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake

960-450: The Kaikōura tide gauge started dropping. Over 25   minutes, it dropped about 2.5   m, a classic warning sign of a tsunami. During the next 15   minutes, the water level rose from its lowest level by about 4   m. That was followed by a series of waves over several hours. The water level at the Kaikōura gauge rose 2.5   m higher than it would have been. This was made up of

1020-564: The Main North Line rail link from Picton south to Lake Grassmere reopened on 16 January 2017. The complete railway from Picton to Christchurch was not restored until 15 September 2017, though service was limited thereafter by continued landslides and repair work; passenger service did not resume until 1 December 2018. In late 2020 the road and rail between Clarence and Oaro was finished being rebuilt and strengthened, which cost $ 1.25 billion. Three cows became stranded on an island after

1080-630: The RNZN's 75th birthday celebrations in Auckland, were redirected by their respective governments to assist. A United States Navy P-3 Orion of VP-47 and two Kawasaki P-1s of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force 's Air Patrol Squadron 3 , also visiting RNZAF Base Whenuapai for the RNZN 75th anniversary events, were deployed to assist. The New Zealand Defence Force also deployed HMNZS  Te Kaha and HMNZS  Endeavour to support

1140-588: The Wellington City Council for negligence for granting building consents and issuing code compliance certificates, since concerns about the building's design had been raised by reviewing engineers before construction began. The building had previously suffered damage during the 2013 Seddon earthquake . Wellington Central Library was not damaged during the Kaikōura earthquake but closed suddenly on 19 March 2019 after engineers reassessed it in light of new understanding about building performance gained from

1200-511: The Yellow Book guidelines. The differences in the two versions of the guidelines have led to confusion and frustration for building owners and engineers and contributed to a shortage of commercial rental properties in Wellington, as renters demand seismically safe buildings. As a land earthquake with unexpected complexity, suggesting a multi phase event, backed by hard data, including that now of

1260-465: The adjacent streets (Molesworth Street and Tory Street) being closed off for a period. The Courtenay Central Reading Cinema complex closed due to minor damage, reopened in March 2017 then closed again on 5 January 2019 after further assessment. As of July 2024 it is still standing but closed. By February 2017, business insurance claims had passed NZ$ 900 million. The Wellington Region had two thirds (65%) of

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1320-423: The aftershock sequence's orientation, and an immediate size of displacement relative to length of surface rupture inconsistent with standard models, a new model for some surface megathrust earthquakes has evolved. Currently it is postulated that an initial dominantly strike-slip event on the Humps Fault within the Pacific plates continental crust, and not associated with the Pacific plate subduction margin, ruptured in

1380-450: The area of any given plate. The fact that intraplate regions may also present seismic hazards has only recently been recognized. Various geologic methods are used to define the boundaries of an active fault such as remote sensing and magnetic measurements, as well as other ways. Several types of data, such as seismologic reports or records over time, are used to gauge fault activity. Activity and fault area are correlated, and risk analysis

1440-456: The biodiversity of the local intertidal community. Aerial drone imaging two years after the earthquake indicated that Durvillaea abundance remained low on reefs with significant uplift, but it revealed offshore refuge populations less frequently detected by field researchers. Genomic research sampling D. antartica populations before and after the 2016 earthquake indicates that the original populations have managed to survive and are dominating

1500-401: The condition of the other 4 km away being unknown. The species has not been found in the wild since the earthquake, and it may now be extinct. In the city of Wellington , buildings were damaged, several beyond repair. Damage to docks briefly halted ferry traffic across Cook Strait ; more significantly, container shipping did not resume for over ten months. The Wellington City Council

1560-432: The continental shelf from seismic reflection data, extending for at least another 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). Part of this segment ruptured in the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake . Hanmer Basin is a small (10 x 20 km) pull-apart basin formed at the overlap between the Hope River and Conway segments of the Hope Fault. The right-stepping geometry of the offset between the two segments has caused local extension to occur and

1620-503: The development of the Hope Fault to that period. The most recent earthquake on the Hope Fault was the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake , which ruptured part of the Seaward segment. The previous earthquake was the 1888 North Canterbury earthquake , which ruptured the whole of the Hope River segment. Alexander McKay, a geologist working for the New Zealand geological survey, observed horizontal offsets in farm fences of between 1.5 and 2.6 metres along

1680-527: The earthquake led to revision of seismic assessment guidelines. The Ministry of Business, Industry and Employment (MBIE) released The Seismic Assessment of Existing Buildings , commonly known as the Red Book, in July 2017. These guidelines provide "a technical basis for engineers to carry out seismic assessments of existing buildings". Section C5 deals with assessment of multi-storey concrete buildings. In 2018, section C5

1740-411: The epicentre, rather 100 km (62 mi) to the north near Seddon . Initial field surveys indicated ruptures on at least six faults, while more detailed studies confirmed ruptures on twenty-five faults. This is considered a world record for the greatest number of faults to rupture in a single earthquake event. The earthquake was assessed as the 'most complex earthquake ever studied' and prompted

1800-487: The fault. He was the first to associate a strike-slip displacement with an earthquake. The longest segment, the Conway segment, shows evidence of past earthquakes, although none have been recorded since European settlement in about 1850. Investigations show that at least three events have occurred, the most recent of which is dated to between 1720 and 1840. All segments of the Hope Fault are likely to experience future earthquakes,

1860-570: The faults of the Marlborough Fault System as was observed to happen. About 45 seconds later, in a second phase, a subsurface megathrust earthquake was initiated in the adjacent area and it was this megathrust earthquake that allowed the rupture of multiple surface faults with atypically high displacements. Such coupling is the new model. As most megathrust earthquakes occur off shore there had been no direct evidence before now of such immediate displacements but it has been postulated that both

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1920-582: The following morning. On the morning of 20 November, HMNZS Canterbury arrived at Lyttelton with another group of evacuees, bringing the total number evacuated from Kaikōura to more than 900. The earthquake occurred on the same day of a supermoon , which caused some speculation that the Moon caused, or increased the likelihood of, the earthquake. Scientific analysis shows that the Moon does not influence earthquakes. The failure of BNZ Harbour Quays, Statistics House and other Wellington buildings that were damaged in

1980-475: The highway north of Kaikōura took substantially longer, with the repaired highway opening over a year later on 15 December 2017. The long term closure of State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura (between Mangamaunu and Clarence ) resulted in a detour through the Lewis Pass being the only major route from Picton to Christchurch . This highway had to be upgraded significantly due to this increased usage. The section of

2040-482: The initial recolonisation process along the newly formed intertidal coastline. However, D. antarctica remains sparse and further change in genetic diversity is possible over the next coming decades. The Hutton's shearwater ( Puffinus huttoni ) colony in the Seaward Kaikōura ranges was extensively damaged by the earthquake. Large landslides buried up to 20% of the existing colony areas. Extensive shaking damaged

2100-411: The integrity of many burrows in the remaining shingle and soil tussock-covered habitat used by these alpine nesting seabirds. The birds were at the peak of egg laying in mid-November and with the quake happening at midnight there would have been considerable losses of birds nesting within breeding burrows. The earthquake also buried one of the two boulders remaining inhabited by the eyelash seaweed , with

2160-498: The largest such events, a possible magnitude 7.5, would be expected from the Conway segment or the Jordan Thrust. Active fault Active faulting is considered to be a geologic hazard – one related to earthquakes as a cause. Effects of movement on an active fault include strong ground motion , surface faulting, tectonic deformation , landslides and rockfalls , liquefaction , tsunamis , and seiches . Quaternary faults are those active faults that have been recognized at

2220-523: The length of the Kekerengu–Needles Fault rupture may extend for about 70 km (43 mi), consisting of 36 km (22 mi) on land and 34 km (21 mi) under the sea. Cape Campbell , at the north-eastern tip of the South Island, moved to the north-north-east by more than two metres – putting it that much closer to the North Island – and rose almost one metre. Kaikōura moved to

2280-713: The linkage Hundalee Fault of up to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) vertically and horizontally 3.7 m (12 ft), a newly identified fault in Waipapa Bay, as well as minor motion on the Seaward segment of the Hope Fault , and rupture on the Humps Fault and in the Emu Plains area. The offshore continuation of the Kekerengu Fault to the north east, known as the Needles Fault, ruptured as well. NIWA marine geologist Philip Barnes said

2340-538: The north-east by nearly one metre, and rose seventy centimetres. The east coast of the North Island moved west by up to five centimetres, and the Wellington Region moved two to six centimetres to the north. Christchurch moved two centimetres to the south. The tsunami that followed the Kaikōura earthquake reached a peak height of about 7 metres. The tsunami was found to be highest at Goose Bay , with data indicating

2400-463: The northwest at about 70° and forms the southern termination of the Seaward Kaikōura, Hawk and Amuri ranges. This topography is a result of the significant component of reverse displacement on this fault zone. An average recurrence interval of 180–310 yr has been calculated for earthquakes along this segment. The Seaward segment extends from near the Kowhai River to the coast and has been recognised on

2460-548: The northwest of the Kelly and Hura faults. This 42 kilometres (26 mi) long segment runs from Harper pass to the junction of the Hope and Boyle rivers. The maximum slip-rate estimated from the offset of a stream is about 13 millimetres (0.51 in)/yr. A minimum slip-rate has also been estimated from offset of channels in a late Holocene alluvial fan complex of 8.1 to 11.0 millimetres (0.32 to 0.43 in)/yr. The average recurrence interval for earthquake slip events on this segment

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2520-559: The operation. The New Zealand Fire Service dispatched urban search and rescue teams to Wellington and Kaikōura. Paramedics were dispatched from St John . Nearly 200 people had been airlifted out of Kaikōura by late evening on 15 November, with about 1,000 still to be evacuated on the following morning. Stranded tourists with health issues and travel plans were put on a flight priority list. HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Kaikōura on 16 November and transported about 450 evacuees, 4 dogs, and 7 tonnes of luggage to Lyttelton , arriving early

2580-403: The rail line, a key freight connection between Wellington and Christchurch, were likely to take more than a year. Parts of the diversion route via State Highways 63 , 6 , 65 and 7 were carrying four times their usual traffic volume. Mains water supply was mostly restored to Kaikōura township by 19 November, but supply was in a "fragile state" and conservation was necessary. The sewage system

2640-473: The reassessment of a number of assumptions about earthquake processes. For example, the likely contribution of underground overpressured fluid to the propagation observed, required data collection and reanalysis with new earthquake models, not available to initial researchers. There was motion on the Kekerengu Fault of up to 12.0 m (39.4 ft) ±   0.7 m (2 ft 4 in), movement on

2700-629: The situation could be assessed, affecting the end-of-year NCEA examinations for secondary school students. Exams on the day of the earthquake were cancelled in many schools, including all of Wellington. Students received derived grades for any exams due to be taken the week of the earthquake. Prime Minister John Key surveyed the damage from the air and later described the scenes as "utter devastation" and estimated that reconstruction would take months and cost billions of dollars. The New Zealand Defence Force dispatched five Royal New Zealand Air Force helicopters (four NH90s and one Agusta A109 ),

2760-432: The southwestern end of the Conway segment. The destruction of the basin at its eastern end is matched by transtensional deformation at the western end that continues to enlarge the basin, giving rise to a roughly steady-state geometry. The basin fill is being constantly reworked as it is uplifted at the basin's eastern end and redeposited to the west. The oldest fill in the Hanmer Basin is Pleistocene in age, which constrains

2820-522: The surface and which have evidence of movement during the Quaternary Period. Related geological disciplines for active-fault studies include geomorphology , seismology , reflection seismology , plate tectonics , geodetics and remote sensing , risk analysis , and others. Active faults tend to occur in the vicinity of tectonic plate boundaries, and active fault research has focused on these regions. Active faults tend to occur less within

2880-443: The surrounding ground had swept away. They made international news and have been described as celebrities. In 2017 the cows' owner published a children's book about them. Uplift along the coast at Kaikōura (up to 6 metres) exposed the intertidal zone, which resulted in a large-scale die off of many organisms including Durvillaea bull kelp. The loss of Durvillaea kelp caused ecological disturbance , significantly affecting

2940-626: The total losses, followed by the upper South Island at 25%, Canterbury at 8% and the remaining 2% from elsewhere in the North Island. In 2016 and 2017 it was decided that several other buildings would be demolished, not repaired: the Figaro Block of the Malvina Major Retirement Village in Burma Road, Johnsonville, the eleven year old, seven-storey NZDF headquarters, and Statistics House owned by CentrePort and built in 2005 on

3000-495: The waterfront. Several buildings failed because of unsatisfactory design features or collapse of building services in buildings constructed only in the previous decade. BNZ Harbour Quays , a large building on Waterloo Quay leased to the BNZ , was badly damaged in the earthquake and in 2018 the building's owner CentrePort announced that it would be demolished. This building was opened in 2009 and demolished during 2019. BNZ then sued

3060-484: Was "severely damaged" and unusable. On 30 November 2016, the Inland Kaikōura Road, redesignated "Kaikōura Emergency Access Road", was reopened to civilian drivers holding a permit and for restricted times of the day. Twenty-five crews had worked to clear 50 landslips on that highway alone. It reopened unrestricted to all traffic on 19 December 2016. State Highway 1 south of Kaikōura reopened two days later on 21 December 2016, albeit only during daylight hours. Repair of

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3120-465: Was 7.8, with the largest amount of that energy released far to the north of the epicentre. Over $ 2.2 billion in insurance claims were received. There were two deaths, in Kaikōura and Mount Lyford . A complex sequence of ruptures with a combined magnitude of 7.8 started at 00:02:56 NZDT on 14 November 2016 and lasted approximately two minutes. The hypocentre (the point where the ruptures started)

3180-472: Was a M w 7.8 earthquake in the South Island of New Zealand that occurred two minutes after midnight on 14 November 2016 NZDT (11:02 on 13 November UTC). Ruptures occurred on multiple faults and the earthquake has been described as the "most complex earthquake ever studied". It has been subsequently modelled as having a megathrust component set off by an adjacent rupture on the Humps Fault. It

3240-502: Was at a depth of 15 kilometres (9.3 miles). The epicentre (the point on the Earth's surface above the hypocentre) was 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 95 km (59 mi) from Christchurch . From the hypocentre associated with the Humps Fault, ruptures ripped northwards at a speed of 2 km/s (1.2 mi/s), over a distance of up to 200 km (120 mi). The largest amount of energy released did not occur at

3300-503: Was damaged at Mount Lyford. Early reports said her cause of death was a heart attack, but an autopsy later indicated it was a head injury suffered during the earthquake. Many major roads were closed in the South Island because of slips and damage to bridges, including State Highway 1 between Picton and Waipara , and State Highway 7 between Waipara and Springs Junction (SH 65 turnoff). Most roads were cleared within 24 hours, but SH 1 between Seddon and Cheviot via Kaikōura and

3360-482: Was given special powers to require reports from building owners, and there were doubts about application of the rules. Several buildings were closed temporarily because of doubts about stairwells. In Lower Hutt , a cinema complex and part of the carpark in the Queensgate Shopping Centre were deemed unsafe and were demolished. At Ava railway station , one of the pedestrian access ramps was damaged and

3420-409: Was pushed off its foundations and heavily damaged. In neighbouring Pigeon Bay, the tsunami was observed at about 2 am but caused no damage. Two people died in the earthquake. A man was crushed and died when the historic Elms Farm homestead near Kaikōura collapsed. Two other people were rescued from the rubble of the house, including the man's 100-year-old mother. A woman died in a log house that

3480-517: Was removed during the weekend of 17 and 18 December, leaving the station without wheelchair access; the ramp was rebuilt and reopened in October 2018. A 54-year-old nine-storey office block, the former ICI Building at 61 Molesworth Street , was demolished during December 2016 after fears that it could collapse. The damaged Reading Cinema parking building off Courtenay Place was demolished during January 2017. Both building failures resulted in part of

3540-414: Was revised because understanding of building performance in the Kaikōura earthquake had changed. The revised section is known as the Yellow Book or Yellow Chapter. Assessment using the Yellow Book can lead to different results from assessment using the Red Book, but only the Red Book has legal standing. Wellington Central Library and Courtenay Central cinema complex were closed in 2019 after assessment under

3600-401: Was the second largest earthquake in New Zealand since European settlement. The earthquake started at about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden and 60 kilometres (37 mi) south-west of the tourist town of Kaikōura and at a depth of approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 miles). The complex sequence of ruptures lasted about two minutes. The cumulative magnitude of the ruptures

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