CASESTUDY What caused the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand?
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on 22 February 2011. The city was badly damaged, 185 people were killed and several thousand were injured. The earthquake epicentre was 10 kilometres south-east of Christchurch’s central business district, and was quite shallow — only 5 kilometres deep — which meant the shaking was particularly destructive. The earthquake was thought to be an aftershock of an earthquake that occurred 5 months earlier in September 2010. Many buildings in the city had already suffered damage in the 2010 earthquake and either collapsed in the 2011 earthquake or had to be demolished afterwards. New Zealand is located between two huge moving plates — the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate — and it experiences thousands of earthquakes every year. Most are very small, but some have caused a lot of damage. These movements continue to shape and form New Zealand and its dramatic mountain landscapes.
FIGURE6 Location of the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand, 2011
Auckland
0
200
400km
North Island
Australian Plate
TASMAN SEA
Wellington
Christchurch
Epicentre of earthquake
South
Pacific Plate
Island
PACIFIC OCEAN
Invercargill
Key
Plate boundary
Source: Map drawn by Spatial Vision
FIGURE7 Earthquake damage in Christchurch
384 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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