Wellington quakes

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1. marty mars 1

   21 July 2013 at 5:31 pm

   Well here in Golden Bay it was a real rattler – the house jittered and creaked on it’s piles (old farmhouse) and even the cat took off.
   • Arfamo 1.1

     21 July 2013 at 6:31 pm

     Rellies in Taranaki were diving under doorways and tables too they tell me.
     • Jimmie 1.1.1

       21 July 2013 at 6:41 pm

       We are just south of Te Awamutu and definitely felt it – this far away it was like a smooth rolling shimmer that lasted around 15 seconds.
2. Arfamo 2

   21 July 2013 at 5:33 pm

   Jesus – just had a 6.5 quake in Northern Suburbs of Welly. Welly’s been wobbling all weekend but that one was a real monster. Won’t be surprised to see quite a few damage reports. Loud rumbling. House was visibly moving back and forth West to East. Still getting aftershocks. I blame the government.
   • Colonial Viper 2.1

     21 July 2013 at 5:37 pm

     Where did you get the 6.5 reading from?
     • Arfamo 2.1.1

       21 July 2013 at 5:42 pm

       Geonet. They had it up instantly as 5.09 pm, mag 6.8 (automated), then up to 6.9, now it’s at 6.5. I believe they average multiple readings or something. Loads of aftershocks showing up too although I’ve only felt a couple of those.
       • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1

         21 July 2013 at 5:48 pm

         cheers. I notice Stuff has it as a 6.8 still.
       • Tim 2.1.1.2

         21 July 2013 at 6:18 pm

         Mmmm! Maybe Gerry B has yet another opportunity to inflict his scorched earth policy a la ChCh.
         Interesting from where I am, the whole harbour echoed with the rumble and the view suddenly began to blurr momentarily.
         Probably Gerry will want to knock it all down to ground level, and start again – just as he did immediately following ChCh – that is UNTIL he realised the folly (oops – too late)
   • lprent 2.2

     21 July 2013 at 5:40 pm

     http://www.geonet.org.nz/

     Geonet has it at 4.8/4.9. They are just pretty shallow.

     On the good news side, if you don’t get the big one down the major slip faults in the next month, then the probability of getting it over the next few decades is diminished. It is pretty clear that the quakes are triggering other ones and relieving stress throughout that region.

     Of course if I was in Wellington, I’d be checking the emergency supplies are up to date.
     • Colonial Viper 2.2.1

       21 July 2013 at 5:42 pm

       If you look at geonet the one at 5:09:30 is the one you want: 6.5. I didn’t look far down enough originally.
       • lprent 2.2.1.1

         21 July 2013 at 6:04 pm

         Ah.. Interesting series.
     • Arfamo 2.2.2

       21 July 2013 at 5:44 pm

       The epicentres look pretty close to the plate boundary. If we get any mag 7.5+s we’ve maybe got a tsunami risk.

       Edit: maybe that’s not the plate boundary – will have a look on some other maps. They are gaining in intensity from Friday’s. This morning’s one was bigger than Friday’s and more noticeable. Probably shallower. But this 6.5 one you couldn’t possibly fail to notice.
       • Colonial Viper 2.2.2.1

         21 July 2013 at 5:46 pm

         Tsunami…if the quake was in teh Cook Strait, Wellington would have 4-5 minutes warning, tops.
         • Arfamo 2.2.2.1.1

           21 July 2013 at 5:55 pm

           Yeah it’s close to the plate boundary all right – bottom end of the Hikurangi trench is not far away from the epicentres. They’re mostly South-east of Cook Strait off Seddon/Blenheim area but some of the smaller ones have been in Cook Strait I think. Geonet doesn’t have them all listed under their “All” category. Older ones drop off the list.
         • lprent 2.2.2.1.2

           21 July 2013 at 5:56 pm

           http://www.iris.edu/hq/programs/education_and_outreach/animations/2

           The faults in this area are strike-slip faults. I don’t know of any block faults that could get vertical movement across enough area to displace a significant volume of water nor are there any deep canyons in the cook strait to cause large debris slides.

           Large tsunami’s are highly unlikely. Tsunami’s are caused by large vertical earth movements, not by earth shaking or sliding.
           • Arfamo 2.2.2.1.2.1

             21 July 2013 at 6:13 pm

             Large tsunami’s are highly likely.

             I take it you meant highly unlikely…good to know. Hope you’re right. There are warning signs and tsunami maps along the Red Rocks seal colony beach walk and I think in Island Bay too, with warnings about how little time there will be to get to higher ground. The hikurangi trench could produce a megathrust I think.
             • lprent …

               22 July 2013 at 12:37 am

               Ah yes. Corrected my typo.

               Any major trench area usually indicates a risk for tsunami’s from both of the main reasons. They usually indicate a subduction zone with a plate going under another plate. There can be various forms of reverse faulting on either plate with the consequent major displacement of water. And the slopes in a subduction zone can be on very high angle, have a vast height (some of them make the Himalayas look small) and with unstable seafloor sediments mixed in with lots of water and salts – perfect for the worlds largest and most widespread landslides.

               Can’t say for sure (since I have never used my degree – earth sciences is more of a interest than the profession), but the Hikurangi trench doesn’t look like a good candidate to me for big tsunamis.

               The seafloor is subducting under the aussie plate that the NI is on. That means that most of the water displacements inside the trench will tend to be either reflected away by the steeper overlapping plate face – thereby dissipating energy. So the main risk would be from reverse faulting on the aussie plate especially if it were moving over the other place.

               But the Hikurangi trench is on the twist point between the two plates. The northern end of it fades into the Kermandec trench, which subducts the other way. at a different angle. It has been speculated that twisted knot in the subductions if teh only real reason for the NZ land mass being as large as it is. From memory, it is pretty jammed on the landward side of the Hikurangi trench. I’d be more worried about the Kermadec trench.

               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikurangi_Trench

               
               • Arfamo …

                 22 July 2013 at 6:04 pm

                 From memory, it is pretty jammed on the landward side of the Hikurangi trench. I’d be more worried about the Kermadec trench.

                 Maybe you would be, but I live here and this makes me concerned about the Hikurangi Trench. All very well to say the energy release will focus out into the Pacific but sea floor upthrust produces circular tsunami ripples – the sea humps up & back down and roars of rippling outward in all directions:

                 http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Earthquakes-at-a-Plate-Boundary/Stuck-Plate-Boundary
                 • Arfamo …

                   22 July 2013 at 6:08 pm

                   correction: roars off, rippling outward in all directions.

                   Quakes seem to be tailing off now though, so hope we dodged a bullet.
                 • lprent …

                   22 July 2013 at 11:29 pm

                   If I was in that area, I’d be far more worried about the block faulting on the land mass.

                   The point I was trying to make was about the effect of the water depths on the dispersion of energy. Virtually all of the earth moving action will be inside the trench and the tsunamis generated will tend to reflect energy from the cliff like western wall of the trench (the western side is the upper plate in this subduction zone) back to the east, and north/south rather than towards the west.

                   Up towards Gisborne where the subduction zone (and therefore the trench) operates in the opposite way looks to me to be at a damn sight higher risk of tsunamis.

                   Of course I live in Auckland as I’m sure someone would have been happy to point out. But paradoxically and despite the number of basaltic cones around (basaltic volcanoes give a lot of warning), it is one of the safer areas of NZ to live in if you are looking at geological risks. Crossing the street is another matter.
                   • Arfamo …

                     23 July 2013 at 12:36 am

                     Tongariro didn’t. Still, I expect a new one popping up would be a different story. I grew up in the shadow of Taranaki, and love it for its stunning beauty, but don’t trust it.

                     I understand what you mean about the subduction upthrust cliff facing outward. GNS also seem to be wary about a tsunami if there’s a large quake on one of the Strait faults, so I’m assuming there must be some upthrust, tilting or slumping evident, or a landslide remnant on the sea floor.
                   • Arfamo …

                     23 July 2013 at 10:22 pm

                     …nor are there any deep canyons in the cook strait to cause large debris slides.

                     Looks like there are: http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=63490
         • fambo 2.2.2.1.3

           22 July 2013 at 12:22 pm

           One day there will be a tsunami that destroys houses somewhere in New Zealand. After that, every house that has been and is presently being built close to the coast in New Zealand will be uninsurable and therefore lose all value. At the moment all the heat is going on old buildings while ugly and expensive new homes are being built right up to the beach in places like the Kapiti Coast.
           • Arfamo 2.2.2.1.3.1

             23 July 2013 at 1:25 am

             Yep. They’ve tsunami-proofed the newer subdivisions with a bit of landforming and expect a smaller size on that coast if there is one. But if there’s a quake and the area slumps they’re in big trouble.
3. TheContrarian 3

   21 July 2013 at 5:40 pm

   Yeah, that was big shake alright. This has been going all weekend. Have removed the valuables from the shelves
4. lprent 4

   21 July 2013 at 5:45 pm

   http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/quakesmap

   Zoom in on the Cook strait – looks like this for recent quakes

   

   Be nice to see a time series mapped.

   Triggering stress slip faults further north (or south) is the issue for humans. At present it is just relieving stress in the cook strait.
   • lprent 4.1

     21 July 2013 at 7:47 pm

     Updated chart

     
5. karol 5

   21 July 2013 at 5:45 pm

   tuff is reporting fire service phone going off:

   A fire service spokeswoman said the phone had been ringing off the hook, with power lines down, people trapped in lifts and multiple sprinkler activations in city buildings.

   “We’ve had reports of damage to some buildings down town. We’ve got power lines that are coming down.”

   Every fire truck had been sent to jobs, she said: “We’ve got all of Wellington out now. And we’ve got jobs waiting to be addressed. We are prioritising jobs.”
6. johnm 6

   21 July 2013 at 5:54 pm

   I’ve lived in Wellington since 1979 and this one 6.5 is the biggest. Was at an outside door and the house and ground rocked as if in a heavy sea. The wheelbarrow outside had some water in it still from the storm and it was slopping around West to East. My friend rushed outside and I followed her though we’ve been told standing under a door jamb is best. I hope this isn’t building to an even bigger one life’s hard enough without this happening. Hopefully everything will calm down over weeks with I think inevitable aftershocks. Disturbing is that the last one was up by Levin (Correct me If I’m wrong). That means Wellington has been straddled in the middle. If we get the big one in Wellington there’ll be hell to pay? :-(. Hope not. I’ll have to see to securing the water tank to not bounce off! This has been a tough Winter with storm damage and now earthquakes. 🙁 Except amazing warm temps thanks to Climate Change Still don’t have to fire up the woodburner as much as I did some 5+ years ago.
   • lprent 6.1

     21 July 2013 at 6:01 pm

     That one at 5:47:32 (south north of Ward) looks like it was on a different fault
     • bad12 6.1.1

       21 July 2013 at 6:12 pm

       Yeah that is the danger for wellington surrounded by various faults, most of these quakes tho shallow and quite large are 40 odd K South,

       Should a big enough one cause the Tinakori fault to let go i would imagine we will be losing a fair few buildings of size…
       • lprent 6.1.1.1

         21 July 2013 at 7:48 pm

         Beehive pleeze

         I want to find out if the engineers know what they were talking about..
         • bad12 6.1.1.1.1

           22 July 2013 at 9:41 am

           LOLZ, yeah i have the odd laugh when i am downtown thinking about the ‘Hive’ sitting on it’s ball-bearings and what size shake would cause it to bounce off down Lambton Quay…
7. Rhinocrates 7

   21 July 2013 at 5:57 pm

   Biggest I’ve known living in Wellington since 1985. Luckily for me, a couple of toppled paperweights and a stack of paperbacks ended up in my laundry basket, but no worse. Hearing about power outages in Karori though.
8. bad12 8

   21 July 2013 at 6:08 pm

   Another small one just then, i am out east of the City and all of them have been felt more mildly out here…
9. travellerev 9

   21 July 2013 at 6:10 pm

   Felt the Quake where I live near Raglan, Waikato. Whole house was shaking like it was floating on a shoal on the ocean for the longest time! Strength about a 3.5!
10. blue leopard 10

    21 July 2013 at 6:12 pm

    (( 😥 ))
    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      21 July 2013 at 6:20 pm

      Hang on in there BL
      • blue leopard 10.1.1

        21 July 2013 at 7:02 pm

        (( 🙂 ))
11. infused 11

    21 July 2013 at 6:19 pm

    That was scary. I knew some more were coming… I think there will be another big one too. Too much movement on the plate edges.
12. karol 12

    21 July 2013 at 6:21 pm

    Stuff now saying:

    Parts of the Beehive and Parliament have suffered damage.

    So, which parts?
    • Colonial Viper 12.1

      21 July 2013 at 6:23 pm

      Maybe we could get some Labour staffers to give us the update 😉
      • Anne 12.1.1

        21 July 2013 at 6:41 pm

        Wellington may have fallen into the Cook Strait by then.
      • Rhinocrates 12.1.2

        21 July 2013 at 6:45 pm

        Oh yeah, Mumblefuck will have to consult a focus group and Whalecum to see what position he’ll take and Beltway Grant will have a press release out in a month or two. Meanwhile Hoots and Du Fresne will say that the quake has a left-wing bias in their next columns.
        • Arfamo 12.1.2.1

          21 July 2013 at 6:49 pm

          Rubbish – it’s obvious National have arranged these quakes with the clear intention of destroying Parliament Buildings and giving them the perfect excuse to shift Parliament to a new building near Sky City in Auckland.
          • Colonial Viper 12.1.2.1.1

            21 July 2013 at 6:56 pm

            I hear there is a magnificent convention centre going up there. SkyCity would surely lease it to the Government, for the cost of each new parents firstborn child.
            • Rhinocrates 12.1.2.1.1.1

              21 July 2013 at 7:10 pm

              I can imagine Key dithering over another option too:

              “Some people may have the opinion that there has been an earthquake, but other people have a different opinion.”
              • yeshe …

                21 July 2013 at 8:18 pm

                -:) that’s funny.

                Stay safe out there, good people.
                • Alanz …

                  21 July 2013 at 9:12 pm

                  May Key not be proven right with his comment some time ago in relation to Wellington !!
          • Mary 12.1.2.1.2

            21 July 2013 at 9:04 pm

            I don’t think so because if Key wanted to do that he’d just do it saying there was a threat Parliament Buildings could be destroyed by an earthquake. This would then be quickly followed by a further rise in the polls.
    • Arfamo 12.2

      21 July 2013 at 6:25 pm

      TV One reporter showed quake damaged wall in Parliamentary Library building next door to Parliament Buildings. Looked like structural damage, not just fallen masonry.
      • Arfamo 12.2.1

        21 July 2013 at 6:28 pm

        Wellington’s geology/fault system seems really complex. South Island Alpine Plate Boundary is strike slip and the Hikurangi Trench plate boundary is a subduction zone. Welly gets squeezed and scrunched and twisted up in the Cook Strait area.
        • bad12 12.2.1.1

          21 July 2013 at 6:34 pm

          When the Wairarapa fault lets go is where the uplift comes into play for Wellington, last time this occurred back in the 1840’s part’s of Wellington were raised by a meter…
          • Arfamo 12.2.1.1.1

            21 July 2013 at 6:40 pm

            The Wellington fault hasn’t actually produced a major quake in recorded history. I think that’s the reason they’re expecting it to be the next big one. There are loads of small faults and 5 major faults here – East to West:
            The Wairarapa Fault, the Wellington Fault, The Ohariu Fault, Sherpherd’s Gully, and the Wairau Fault.

            There are old signs of the Wellington fault producing uplift in the Hutt area. You can actually see the escarpment on a documentary clip on YouTube if I remember correctly – or it might be embedded in a Geology article I once found and had a look at.
            • bad12 12.2.1.1.1.1

              21 July 2013 at 7:00 pm

              My thinking is that this current swarm of Quakes has more to do with the same forces behind the Christchurch quakes as opposed to any of Wellingtons many faults,

              Any uplift is probably occurring in the Marlborough ranges and Wellington is simply feeling the effects because of proximity..
        • weka 12.2.1.2

          21 July 2013 at 6:48 pm

          Got a link to some good diagrams and explanations of the faults you are talking about Arfamo?
          • Arfamo 12.2.1.2.1

            21 July 2013 at 6:58 pm

            http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/Historical+Earthquakes
            http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/M+8.2+-+8.3%2C+Wairarapa%2C+23+January+1855 (this one was the big one that severely damaged Wellington and raised the shoreline)
            http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand/Wellington-Fault

            http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?imgurl=http://img.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0909/wgtn_active_faults_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p%3D12270&h=2091&w=2200&sz=749&tbnid=IYITOvNczgEO5M:&tbnh=91&tbnw=96&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwellington%2Bearthquake%2Bfaults%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=wellington+earthquake+faults&usg=__-ehsHG7JQpeyRjgwDrJKTzd1OrA=&docid=g2yLdXUJTGQwdM&sa=X&ei=SofrUdzSK4W6iQeA4oGQCw&ved=0CEMQ9QEwBQ&dur=945

            I’ve got a regular 30 min call to make to me mum at 7 pm weka. I remember googling info on Wellington’s faults and quake history after the Chch quakes. Would take a bit of time to find all the geology clips and articles I came across, but happy to do that for you a bit later. It freaked me a bit at the time to see so many potential quake sources in the region.

            Think I just started with “Wellington Faults” and then just followed various links.

            Ciao for now.
            • weka 12.2.1.2.1.1

              21 July 2013 at 10:42 pm

              Cheers 🙂
    • bad12 12.3

      21 July 2013 at 6:30 pm

      The mad scientists in my mind have been aching for something in the way of a Biggie for years just to see how the various buildings in Wellington that sit upon ‘ball bearing shock absorbers’ handle the shake,

      Having helped ‘pile’ half the tower blocks downtown years ago it will be interesting to see what type of foundations stand up to earthquakes best…
      • lprent 12.3.1

        21 July 2013 at 7:51 pm

        The mad scientists in my mind have been aching for something in the way of a Biggie for years just to see how the various buildings in Wellington that sit upon ‘ball bearing shock absorbers’ handle the shake..

        Thats my (residual) interest…
13. bad12 13

    21 July 2013 at 6:26 pm

    Another smaller than the last one, just a bump and a rattle of the window…
14. Poission 14

    21 July 2013 at 6:53 pm

    There seems to be absence of quality reporting,or information probably as it is Sunday.

    WCC information is sparse and non existent as there is a data center relocation.An inability to have resilient information following CHCH is untenable

    http://wellington.govt.nz/
15. bad12 15

    21 July 2013 at 7:01 pm

    Oooh felt that one, two distinct jolts felt as if someone had dropped something very heavy just outside the house….
16. Outofbed 16

    21 July 2013 at 7:28 pm

    Dick Seddon Rolling in his grave?
17. Rhinocrates 17

    21 July 2013 at 8:04 pm

    http://xkcd.com/723/
18. karol 18

    21 July 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Youtube:

    Rocking swimming pool

    Wellington library damage
    • felix 18.1

      21 July 2013 at 8:55 pm

      People in Wellington have swimming pools??

      What for?
      • Colonial Viper 18.1.1

        21 July 2013 at 9:00 pm

        Emergency algae storage, by the looks of it
        • weka 18.1.1.1

          22 July 2013 at 8:59 am

          Wellington’s contribution to CC mitigation 🙂
      • karol 18.1.2

        21 July 2013 at 9:07 pm

        So they can check if the earth really is shaking….?
19. Tim 19

    21 July 2013 at 8:45 pm

    I’ve just done an inspection.
    The Liar Liar Pants on Fire Billboard appears to have come out of all this unscathed.

    Even from a distance, that Bridges ‘do Oi Give a Shit? – Oi’m in with the IN crowd’ visage is still staring at me under bright lights.
20. Dan1 20

    21 July 2013 at 8:47 pm

    It was a goodie! Rocked and rolled something great. We decided after Friday’s effort to get our supplies up to date. We had sent our water container to our son after the first of the Christchurch quakes, so figured we better replace that. And we filled up the spare gas container for the BBQ.
    The message from David’s Christchurch experience of 12,000 quakes was to make sure the car was full of gas. Many people were handicapped severely by not being able to fill up with petrol stations out, and were unable to get out of town or across town to rellies.
    So we filled the car as well.
    And so at 5.05 we were all prepared. Our enjoyment of a recorded Wallender programme was majorly interrupted. But nothing came loose!
    Having experienced a few in Christchurch, the thing that bugs me is you never know whether it is going to build to real big one. This was big enough!

    PS I think I preferred the old Geonet layout.
21. Poission 21

    21 July 2013 at 8:48 pm

    WCC the council emergency call centre had been shut down due to council buildings being unsafe.

    there needs to a complete cull of the entire elected council for gross incompetence.
    • Colonial Viper 21.1

      21 July 2013 at 8:54 pm

      Emergency call centre shut down due to being in an unsafe building. On a normal day, that would be funny.
      • Poission 21.1.1

        21 July 2013 at 9:13 pm

        There is substantive structural damage in the CBD,there will be a significant economic cost if the first chch quake provides guidelines (both in occurred damage and perceived risk) such as red and yellow stickered buildings in the cbd.
      • weka 21.1.2

        21 July 2013 at 11:46 pm

        “On a normal day, that would be funny.”

        We should laugh (darkly) while we still can.
22. Rosetinted 22

    21 July 2013 at 8:52 pm

    Radionz played a historical clip tonight. 100 year old lady recalling, when she was a toddler, the 1855 Wellington earthquake which was 8.2. That was the one that raised the fore shore that the road to Petone and Hutt is on now.
    • Rosie 22.1

      21 July 2013 at 9:37 pm

      RT, the historical recordings they play on RNZ are wonderful, and a good anchor, in light of how we see society. It would have been wild and strange for Maori and colonial Pakeha to be living in the ‘New Zealand Company’ town of Wellington in 1855, during and after that quake.
23. Brett Dale 23

    21 July 2013 at 9:12 pm

    It was a biggie, reminded me of the chch june 2011 ones. Seems like its going to be
    a bumpy nice, lets just hope its safe.
24. Poission 24

    21 July 2013 at 9:21 pm

    5 hours after the shake we are yet to hear from a gvt minister can someone email the radio stations in Bali, Hawaii, etc to get them to pick up their phones.
    • Rob 24.1

      22 July 2013 at 1:26 pm

      Yes , I thought the glorious Wgtn mayor might have something to say (often difficult to kepp her quiet), but it looks like she ran for the hills and is still travelling.
25. Arfamo 25

    21 July 2013 at 9:58 pm

    We’re still getting frequent, noticeable aftershocks – most still epicentred in Cook Strait off Seddon by looks of it. (Hope they’re aftershocks and not foreshocks.) Have just been walking around the house straightening pictures. Probably not worth the effort at the moment.
26. Rosie 26

    21 July 2013 at 10:17 pm

    Earlier post on Open Mike:

    21 July 2013 at 5:54 pm

    “Yeah Risildo, that was a biggie, bigger than Friday’s and this morning’s one. It’s starting to get a bit much. I had just got a glass of wine to celebrate the planting of a hedge and my husband (a civil defence volunteer in training, so will have lots to discuss at this weeks class) was in the bath, recovering his sore muscles. Had a mini tsunami in the bath, windows rattling, crockery rattling, glassware tinkling, rumble rumble rumble, wine sloshing around in my glass as I found a safe place to stand. (Clearly I couldn’t put it down otherwise it would fall over!) …………

    Hope all living in Marlborough and lower north island doing ok and not dealing with too much damage”.

    Prior to that comment we received a call from friends in CHCH who were checking on us.. Our friend’s 6 year old son came on the line and asked “are you ok? Has it stopped? Is there any damage? Will you be ok now?”. Quite humbling that a 6 year old earthquake veteran asked such practical questions. Once he was reassured that everything was ok (for us at least but not in town where there is a lot of damage) and I got off the phone I felt like a bit of an idiot for thinking, on our departure from living for many years in Auckland, to return to Wellington, “violent wind and earthquakes, I am coming back home to your madness and I can’t wait”
    It seems like a bit of a romantic thought now.
27. Adrian 27

    21 July 2013 at 10:30 pm

    Acording to an explanation about new research findings I read about a few years ago, the area where the quakes are happening is a bit like the lid of a box whwn you fold the four sides in on themselves to lock them in. They found a new fault that was at 90* to the North /South Wairau and Waiarapa ones effectivly “locking” the area up. It seems like the quake boffins have been waiting for this lot for a while. It may be the best thing to happen sooner rather than later. There have been lots of less than 4 quakes in this area for years, by the way.
    • lprent 27.1

      22 July 2013 at 12:52 am

      It seems like the quake boffins have been waiting for this lot for a while. It may be the best thing to happen sooner rather than later.

      Yeah, I’m a trifle disappointed. I’ve been waiting to see if the Beehive could survive a major quake in that region for a *long time*. In fact ever since I found out in the early 80’s that they’d carefully placed it directly over one of the major strike faults. With all of the stress relief that will happen over the next few months as these quakes cascade through the system, I figure that it massively lowers the probability of having a really large quake in the coming decades. So either we get one in the next few months or I put it in the carton of lost dreams like spending a season in Antarctica or seeing real AI in my lifetime.
      • King Kong 27.1.1

        22 July 2013 at 8:41 am

        Had you been hoping that Christchurch got hit as well, to see how it stood up to a major quake? Must of been quite exciting for you when the reports of people being crushed by masonry started coming through.
        • lprent 27.1.1.1

          22 July 2013 at 10:59 pm

          That one was a bit of a surprise because it had been pretty inert earthquake wise since the 1880’s ones further north. No-one had any really good idea of the frequency of earthquakes there, if only because there hadn’t been enough earthquakes in the last 40-50 years (since there have been adequate local measurements) to generate the required pulses to locate the unknown faults.

          The building standards in ChCh even up to the latter parts of last century were known to be somewhat lax compared to much of NZ because it was thought the main risk was from the fault s in the Alps. It wasn’t until the Kobe earthquake in 1995 that engineers realised exactly how dangerous lax assumptions about fault lines below and close to a city could be. Hell even a monkey like yourself is probably vaguely aware of it these days after ChCh.

          Wellington/Blenheim on the other hand have been quite active because of the number of major faults that go through there. Consequently there has been a concerted effort over the last 70 years to ensure that buildings are up to a higher standard. However there hasn’t been a large quake close enough to the city to find out how effective the earthquake protection has been – especially the retro-fitting of older buildings undertaken since the 80’s. I was peripherally involved in a study on the preparedness of the Wellington region for a earthquake in the early 80’s. Hence my interest….

          I really can’t help it that you were more interested in smearing your excreta at the time than in the effects of earthquakes. But I really wish that you’d given up on *your* obsession. There are toilets even for mythical monkeys and you really don’t have to continue to smear crap…. BTW: Have you read King Kong novelisation?
28. Mary 28

    21 July 2013 at 11:12 pm

    Should really be called the Marlborough quakes, not Wellington quakes. Were way closer to Seddon and Blenheim and have been hit far harder, too. MSM’s doing the same thing. Why is that?
    • Arfamo 28.1

      21 July 2013 at 11:42 pm

      Just that it’s a bigger city, with more old and non-compliant high rise buildings and infrastructure to get damaged Mary. And it’s the capital. TV news has shown Seddon residents, we know they’re getting even stronger shakes than we are. Not sure about Blenheim but I imagine they’re getting rocked worse than us as well. Haven’t seen anything about Nelson yet.
      • Mary 28.1.1

        22 July 2013 at 12:20 pm

        Anyone would think it was all about Wellington. Inside of any houses in Wellington “trashed”?

        http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/mp/18091023/sleepless-night-as-aftershocks-continue/
        • Arfamo 28.1.1.1

          22 July 2013 at 1:07 pm

          A few friends have had minor breakages, things came off shelves. The lateral oscillation went on for long enough to cause things to topple and shift out of alignment & that seems to include some building walls, brick fences etc. It might seem to be all about Wellington, because there’ll be more to damage, but it’ll probably be recorded seismologically/geologically as the Seddon or Cook Strait earthquake sequence I reckon. Much like Christchurch’s seems to be referred to as the Darfield quake.

          The 4+ pointer around 3.15 am woke me up but luckily was short duration. (Actually a minor tremor a couple of minutes before probably woke me. Bedroom’s upstairs where shaking’s stronger. I was wide awake for the bigger one.) Still plenty of smaller quakes happening. My kitchen fridge is the best quake detector – the cooling panel on the back rattles even if the tremor’s light and there’s no perceptible roaring.
          • Arfamo 28.1.1.1.1

            22 July 2013 at 1:50 pm

            I note GNS are referring to this as the Seddon Sequences.
29. Sanctuary 29

    22 July 2013 at 8:18 am

    According to Audrey Young, the Treasury overlooks the building the press gallery are housed in –

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10901284

    Was it wrong of me, just for a fleeting to moment, to smile as I imagined the unelectable crushing the unreadable?
    • bad12 29.1

      22 July 2013 at 8:33 am

      Lolz, the monolithic Treasury building along with the Reserve Bank across the road will probably take a 10 pointer on the rickety scale directly underneath befor they suffer any significant damage,

      The tower block tucked in behind the Reserve Bank built in the midst of the Neo-Liberal revolution tho is a different story entirely…
      • bad12 29.1.1

        22 July 2013 at 9:24 am

        Listening to National radio just now and Wellington City Council are saying Bolton Street is still closed,

        i have to wonder how the tower block i mention in the comment above,(and the underground carpark next door), managed during the 6.5 and if there is not some significant damage like ‘pancaking’,

        Lolz if so, better go hit up the designers as in my opinion both the tower block and underground car park were designed to do just that…
    • karol 29.2

      22 July 2013 at 8:33 am

      Hillarious. nd some of Audrey Young’s lines funny in ways she didn’t anticipate:

      I was waiting for Patrick Gower to send us the latest political poll results to see if Labour’s “man-ban” debacle had had any impact.

      The Press Gallery sits alongside the Beehive and all I can say is, thank God for Stalinist architecture.

      It’s a long, skinny, two-storeyed building, unattractive, solid concrete, with small impractical windows. No chance of it toppling over. The Treasury could topple on to us but it is built like the proverbial brick s*** house.
      […]
      The most scary thing about our offices is the prospect of the floors opening up and dropping us into the parliamentary swimming pool below.
      […]
      The box marked Winston Peters and Owen Glenn came flying off the shelf in the Herald office, along with David McGee’s Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand and many other files.

      […]
      Paddy Gower emailed the poll results out under embargo at 5.30pm but I decided to follow the sirens up Molesworth and into Aitken St.

      The gods have spoken – Gower’s manipulations sidelined.
30. yeshe 30

    22 July 2013 at 8:56 am

    Kiwibank computer(s) must have been badly shaken .. a auto payment due out overnight remains in my account (still visible online) but calls to Customer Services explain there has been ‘an incident’ and no calls will be answered.

    Stay safe down there.
    • Colonial Viper 30.1

      22 July 2013 at 9:06 am

      Do they process payments on a Sun night? I’m with ANZ and I think they only process on weekday nights.
31. bad12 31

    22 July 2013 at 9:36 am

    For some reason when i got up this morning i got the ‘Feeling’ that last nights 6.5 was ‘it’ as far as big ones here go,

    Not being an expert my guess is that the Seddon ‘flurry’ of quakes was a follow on from the Christchurch quakes where those quakes have transferred all the ‘stress’ on that particular fault north-wards to Seddon which has now ‘slipped’ and relieved it’s stress,

    The question then is where the next stress will occur if the movement at Seddon is transferred elsewhere onto the fault line…
    • King Kong 31.1

      22 July 2013 at 9:41 am

      Looking forward to the headline on stuff, “unqualified, internet nut job declares quakes over”
      • bad12 31.1.1

        22 July 2013 at 9:48 am

        Must be pretty grim in the empty cavern of your mind where everything is whittled down to simple Derrs, Darrs and Aaahs, and required reading is the tri-annual National Party manifesto,

        i could almost feel sorry for your sad unimaginative intellect except for the fact that is that such a denseness of awareness is mostly self inflicted…
        • Rosetinted 31.1.1.1

          22 July 2013 at 12:27 pm

          No bad12 KingKong probably is on John Key’s diary list, where the Great One passes on his pearls of wisdom, his winsome words from the dynamic duo, and his complacent confidence that the reader will agree with him and all that is being accomplished in the country by ACT which of course includes breaking it in half, like our hearts.
      • Te Reo Putake 31.1.2

        22 July 2013 at 10:14 am

        KK, such a headline has already been kinda done to death, albeit for earthquake and weather crank Ken Ring.
    • bad12 31.2

      22 July 2013 at 10:50 am

      Lolz i take it all back, a bit of a bump and then a shake…
32. Poission 32

    22 July 2013 at 10:03 am

    BNZ on the wharf

    http://static2.stuff.co.nz/1374439709/680/8947680_600x400.jpg
33. travellerev 33

    22 July 2013 at 10:07 am

    Here is my bizarre account of the event!
34. Veutoviper 34

    22 July 2013 at 10:29 am

    Well folks, there is nothing to worry about – John Key says its all OK.

    “KEY: HAVE CONFIDENCE IN WELLINGTON’S BUILDINGS

    New Zealand’s high building standards should give Wellingtonians confidence as aftershocks continue to roll, said Prime Minister John Key.

    He said he could understand the feeling of helplessness and the “fear factor” that came with the quakes, but Wellington’s buildings would hold up “very well.”

    Somehow, I just do not have confidence in much/anything that Key says. And I for one have not/am not enjoying the shakes which are still continuing. Watching the Geonet site doesn’t help!

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8946666/Wellington-streets-deserted-after-quake

    This is the wrong place for this, but the article also states the following:

    “Key had cancelled some planned engagements today as a result of the earthquakes.

    The Labour Party’s caucus meeting in Napier was also cancelled because a number of MPs were stuck in Auckland due to the fog which had disrupted flights, while others wanted to be in Wellington because of the quakes. “

    I wonder whether the cancelled engagements include the meeting of the Intelligence and Security Committee planned for this afternoon?

    And re the cancellation of the LP caucus meeting, Shearer made no mention of this an hour or so ago when he was interviewed on Radio NZ and stated that his leadership would not be discussed at the meeting….
35. vto 35

    22 July 2013 at 11:12 am

    I feel for all of you up there getting shaken to bits.

    I think it’s unnerving us down here in Christchurch too given its proximity and similarity. I think it’s probably unnerving the entire country, including the insurers too I wonder.
    • Veutoviper 35.1

      22 July 2013 at 11:29 am

      Thanks, vto. I am usually a very strong person – but my biggest phobia is earthquakes.

      I now have a much better understanding etc of what you people down there in Christchurch have experienced for so long – and my hat goes off to you all. We have only had a couple of days of it up here – and I am a nervous wreck!
      • vto 35.1.1

        22 July 2013 at 12:03 pm

        I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Well, depending I guess……

        Handy hints;

        fuel up the car
        fuel for the heating
        water for cleaning
        don’t run outside and get killed by bits falling off your building
        don’t stand under old buildings
        concrete fences, they are never built properly and fall over
        what is up will come down
        keep good hiking shoes
        old telephones still work without power
        lime for the longdrop
        beer and tipple

        things are probably very uncertain in Wellington and Marlborough. What’s everyone doing in Wellington? The CBD empty? People staying at home nervously? Last thing we need ……..
        • Rosie 35.1.1.1

          22 July 2013 at 1:24 pm

          Thanks for the tips vto. I remember one thing that folks said after the CHCH quakes was always keep the petrol tank full in your car, as you’ve suggested above. Since then, I’ve always done that. Never know when you may have to make an escape, if you can that is and the roads aren’t all busted..

          Don’t what it’s like in town apart from whats on stuffed, as well as reports on RNZ.

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/photos/8945747/Central-NZ-hit-by-earthquake

          Looks like some one got real angry with Steven Joyce and trashed his office.
        • weka 35.1.1.2

          22 July 2013 at 5:56 pm

          Learn about composting toilets before you need one. They’re a better option than digging a hole in the ground, and can be set up relatively easily during an emergency. Important esp where there is liquefaction, and can be used for weeks not just days. Here’s the work that came out of the Chch quakes (and I see they’ve been talking to Wellington too).

          http://www.composttoilets.co.nz/
          • Martin 35.1.1.2.1

            22 July 2013 at 7:40 pm

            and plenty of good stuff four the garden and a coast without fecal pollution.
            Maybe we need to change the building code?
            • weka 35.1.1.2.1.1

              22 July 2013 at 11:14 pm

              Don’t need to. As long as you still have a flushing toilet, there is nothing illegal about a composting one.
36. Rosetinted 36

    22 July 2013 at 11:31 am

    For those interested in knowing more about the seismic status around Cook Strait and Seddon. For one thing they have happened before.
    http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/2013/07/21/Preliminary+science+from+the+Seddon+sequences
    Most recently, in 2005 a series of four earthquakes greater than 5.0 occurred about 10 to 15 km to the south-west of the current swarm; these earthquakes caused no damage.

    largest earthquake (as at 9 pm on Sunday 21 July) being of magnitude 6.5, which generated shaking of up to 21% g (or about 1/5 of the force due to gravity) at Ward, and 16% g (or about 1/6 of the force due to gravity) at Picton…. (Note Ward is 15 minutes away from Seddon. Christchurch biggie peak ground acceleration was 10 times bigger ie 220%.)
    http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/M+6.3,+Christchurch,+22+February+2011

    I wondered how Picton was affected, It was a little less than the area around Seddon and Ward which includes Clifford Bay, the scene of one of NACTs expensive ‘Think Big’ likely misspending fiascos. (Undermining the thriving and enterprising community at Picton, duplicating infrastructure at a huge expense, using borrowed money and opening up what are largely NZ owned investments to the drain of overseas profit.)

    Sounds like a bad place to pour more money into. And there are the possibilities of tsunamis as well as earthquakes affecting the expensive infrastructure and development of a Clifford Bay port area.

    Earthquakes less than magnitude 7.0 do not usually generate a tsunami; however, it is possible for undersea landslides triggered by earthquake shaking to produce a tsunami. The impact of these types of tsunami is usually confined to the coastline close to the earthquake epicentre, and would reach the coast within 10 to 20 minutes following the earthquake.

    One reason why NACTs and their big farmer lobby could want faster and shorter trips between the islands, is so they can carry animal haulage vehicles with in excess of 1000 sheep sometimes from far south destinations to mid North Is. and vice versa.

    That was a big feature in the spread of foot and mouth in Britain. Of course we never learn. It has an horrific effect on farmers there and their economy and animal genetic strains, as the economic bulldozer wiped out herds and pockets of rare animals and special breeds. Our economy couldn’t recover from this. Just mentioning ramifications – no sheepish pun intended.)
37. Roflcopter 37

    22 July 2013 at 12:18 pm

    Was in Wellington this morning. All I could think of was this song….

    The Specials : Ghost Town – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhhSBgd3KI
38. fambo 38

    22 July 2013 at 12:29 pm

    Alternative check list for surviving an earthuake (happily) aka “Let’s have an Earthquake Party”

    * Wind up gramaphone and plenty of 78RPM records and/or a musical instrument

    * Appropriate intoxicants

    * A good book

    * Good company

    * A set of binoculars to look at the night sky

    * A shovel and toilet paper
39. Emelsee 39

    22 July 2013 at 12:54 pm

    where is Key? Is anyone else surprised that we have had so many disasters since Key and his cronies got into government? time to vote out Key
40. vto 40

    22 July 2013 at 5:46 pm

    The similarities with Christchurch continue …… just heard an engineer (I imagine) from I think the Council on radionz saying confidently that things have been checked to a certain level and precautions are in place.

    Down here that was said after each and every one. People in the CTV building post-September commented on whether it had been weakened, was it safe, it began to shake at a passing bus, it had been checked by engineers.

    I certainly don’t mean to put the fear of god into anyone but this was a reality. Don’t put all your trust in authoritative assessment – trust your instinct as much. Near to us an unprotected and unassessed thingy got further damaged enough to kill after the third one in June ’11. It had never been assessed as dangerous. We always walked around it.

    From what I see of downtown Blenheim and Wellington there needs to be some pretty comprehensive assessment before letting people back. Equals empty CBD for a time.
41. Molly Polly 41

    22 July 2013 at 5:58 pm

    I am angry.

    Someone close to me was forced to work in Wellington’s CBD today against the directive of the Civil Defence and the Mayor of Wellington. This person was due to start work at 11am but the other worker, who was the key holder, had to open the shop at 9am. This person couldn’t get into the CBD by public transport to do this.

    However, this person managed to get into the city by mid afternoon. Both workers were told that if the shop didn’t open both of them would have to take annual leave.

    So here we have two young people on minimum wage forced to open a retail shop in the middle of the CBD at 3.00pm for 2 hours! This is after a severe earthquake when the advice from all and sundry was not to go into the CBD. Inspections of buildings needed to take place (and the shop is part of a high rise complex, including a car park) and to keep the public away as a safety precaution.

    The CBD is a ghost town today so there are little, if no people, shopping.

    I guess that if you were desperate for a pair of shoes, or an ouffit for a special occasion…this is the very day you would go shopping to get these vital items. Straight after an earthquake and continuing after shocks – and in defiance of the Civil Defence!

    Shame on this business owner for putting the company’s profits before anything else. Shame on this business owner for putting these two young people at risk. And shame on this business owner for forcing these two young people to work for 2 hours, or else.

    Other major companies such as Farmers and Kirks were closed, as were the majority of small retailers.

    And by the way – zilch purchases were made.
    • Bill 41.1

      22 July 2013 at 6:04 pm

      You’ll probably find that Farmers, Kirks and whoever else will count today against an employee’s annual leave. Personally, I think it’s bullshit and that employees should receive a day’s pay while retaining their full leave entitlements, but hey….
    • Arfamo 41.2

      22 July 2013 at 6:52 pm

      What’s the name of the shop?
42. Lloyd 42

    22 July 2013 at 6:29 pm

    Helen didn’t organise any earthquakes like these!

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