Safe places to live

Please don't laugh but can anyone tell me any part of New Zealand that would be a safe place to live as i have a wife who is worried about the volcano's and earthquakes!!! Just needed to give her some reassurance. Thanks :icon_biggrin:

Hi moley,

The whole of New Zealand suffers from frequent earthquakes, so it's more a case of 'where are the smallest quakes'!

The major fault line runs through Wellington, so anything either side of the cook straight gets more severe quakes. Northland has the least amount and least violent quakes, so theres a good place to be!

Auckland and Rotorua are the most under threat from volcanic activity, with a few other places dotted around that have very minor activity.

I think Auckland region has got to be pretty safe. The chances of an major eruption or earthquake are low (fingers crossed).

There are maps on the net showing the distribution of earthquakes in NZ and it's easy to spot where the safer places are.

Recently it seems that there has been more damage caused by the weather - flooding, tornades, land slips etc. -pretty much the same as anywhere esle in the world in that respect.

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

gives the most recent quakes. If you don't want quakes then go for the South Island, they get a lot less

I really did giggle when I read this post. I was exactly the same before we came here. :icon_lol: :icon_lol:

After ruling out so many places because of volcanos :icon_eek: icon_exclaim.gif , we settled for christchurch.

There has been a couple of earthquakes since we have been here, but I have slept through them :icon_confused:

To be honest it is the last thing on my mind now and even though I am aware of them, I don't spend my days worrying.

Joanne

Just keep in mind that most earthquakes aren't terribly damaging. You won't even feel most of them. The news just plays up the biggies. After living near the San Andreas Fault all my life, I've only been scared by one quake, and the only damage was a broken champagne glass and a couple of small cracks in the house's plaster. That quake was scary mostly because it hit quickly, at 6 AM, and made a lot of noise - like a freight train suddenly came roaring by. Wierd. OK, so I also felt the Loma Prieta quake, but was far enough away that my area didn't suffer damage. I may be nuts, but I usually enjoy earthquakes.

Safety tip: if you're inside during a quake, stand in a doorway or get under a table. If you're outside, get away from buildings, power lines and anything else that might fall on your head.

We had one last night - about 150 km offshore, preliminary magnitude of 7.0-7.4. Sizeable, but far enough away from land to do no damage. Just about 30 seconds of gentle rocking. Yee-haw! :048:

Anyway, I know I'm not writing about NZ's tectonic activity, but wanted to write from a native quake-rider's perspective. Just keep me away from tornadoes & hurricanes!