New Zealand and earth quakes..

najla56

Hi all,

I am hoping this is the right forum to post this topic.

So I was thinking of doing higher studies in New Zealand.. (ME in Geo technology), and I was talking to this guy who was doing his Phd from canterbury, and it seems he suspended is Phd there for 3 years and moved to london to do some other course because of the earth quakes.. He spoke very strongly of those..

so I was wondering if i could get some firsthand accounts on earthquakes from NZ, any inputs will be really appreciated.. Thanks in advance!

Dina275

I'm a New Zealander and I've only felt three earthquakes and they were all very minor! The only thing I really felt was that the floor sort of shifted under my feet, and I was working in a science lab up on the fifth floor of a building once and felt the building sway a little, but they never did any damage. The thing with NZ is that it is situated on a plate boundary which runs up the country, it runs up the middle of the south island and then also up the centre of the North Island and the earthquakes are mainly centralised along these areas. I live up in the North of the North Island (north of Auckland) and we never get earthquakes up this far, there have been some very very small ones felt in Auckland, but they are very rare and really nothing to worry about! The earthquakes I felt were from when I lived down near the bottom of the North Island (closer to the fault line).

Really Christchurch and Canterbury is the main area really affected by the earthquakes, there hasn't been any big ones recently, but I think there are still small ones, the big one last year really did a lot of damage though and was devastating, but earthquakes that size are very rare and don't occur all that often.

Seriously, I wouldn't let the earthquake thing put you off coming to NZ, stay in the upper North Island and you most likely won't experience any at all!!

najla56

well thanks! From what i read, the earthquakes dint seem all that menacing.. but this guy had really freaked e out:) thanks for clearing that up:)

havamazz

Yep, I'm a kiwi too and live in Auckland = never had an earthquake here

kadinlucas

Well 185 people died so it is the second worst natural disaster by deaths for NZ. Also the cost is going to be like 10-15b which is like the third most expensive natural disaster ever. It was a bit menacing...

nikwhit2002

I was in Christchurch for all the earthquakes, lived there until Dec 11 when I relocated to the North Island because of my husbands job. It is our intention to return to Christchurch asap as that is home for us.
The earthquakes are very unsettling, to experience first hand and worse, for family back in the UK who never knew whether I was safe until I could contact them. The whole of NZ has potential for earthquakes, the North Island for volcanic activity.
That said, it's an amazing country and if you get the chance to come, then do...many people have left Christchurch due to stress and the constant fear of another big shake and unless you have experienced a big one, you can't describe it's power.
I think the fact that 185 people died could be considered "menacing", of course it's not 9/11 or Japan but was a pretty big deal for those of us who lived and lost people through it.
If you do come, and visit the South Island, be aware of the feelings of those people in Christchurch, some are still "freaked out" but have no option but to stay...the Aucklanders,well, it's just another news day to them.

piratesaregrand

I live in Wellington, we get small quakes all the time. When they hit there's a brief feeling of omg this is it, but you can't live life worrying about stuff like that.

almostatgoalweight

I live in Christchurch. I've felt at least 2,000 earthquakes since September 2010. You sort of get used to them, they definitely are getting less frequent. I probably feel one every 2 weeks that is 3.0, and every month that is 4.0. The chances of you dying from any future earthquakes is about as high as the chances of you dying on the flight over. Pretty small. One issue to know about is that there is a housing shortage here in Chch. This is due to the unoccupied houses which are damaged, putting pressure on the housing market. I have no idea how much extra you'd need to pay for rent, maybe $20-40 a week, as a guess.

indescribablesin

Christchurch has had it pretty rough these past few years. Most of the locals down there seem to be handling it fine, but it's really gotten to some people. And then of course the deaths... I remember frantically checking to see all my friends in Chch were safe after those really bad ones...

Don't let the earthquakes stop you coming to New Zealand though. If you want to be extra safe, move to Auckland. Never felt an earthquake up here.

najla56

thanks folks, that was big help! I guess i'm not going to let the earthquakes decide afterall

almostatgoalweight

You can track NZ earthquakes here http://geonet.org.nz/ and there is twitter to see people's discussion #eqnz

ninerbuff

Come live in CA for awhile and you'll see that earthquakes are actually nothing to really worry about. We have them daily, although it takes at least a 3.5 magnitude to feel anything. Even then, to most Californians that's just a little wiggle.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

zoukeira

Ohh definitely don't let earthquakes stop you coming to visit Christchurch - it seems we're well and truly over the worst of them. Plus with all the rebuilding (where else are you going to go and find a WHOLE new city!?) this is about the most exciting place to be in NZ. Thanks to the quakes I've lost my home twice, I've lost the neighbourhood I grew up in, I lost my job, and lost 117 people in a building I used to work in (the CTV building) including some I would count among friends but thanks to the quakes, like most of us Christchurchians I've gained so much more. I'm excited for our future.