What is the difference between earthquake magnitude and intensity? Magnitude is a measure of the strength of an earthquake - the amount of energy released at the point where the earthquake occurs. Intensity is a measure of the effects of an earthquake on people, fittings (furniture, crockery, etc.), buildings and the environment. Intensity decreases with distance - the amount of damage diminishes the further you are from the earthquake epicentre. 4:24 PM
19.5.06
The “New Zealand death” Early settlers underestimated the danger of New Zealand’s shallow gravel-bed rivers. By 1870, just a few decades after Europeans first arrived, New Zealand rivers had been responsible for 1,115 recorded drownings. Drowning became known as “the New Zealand death”. 12:27 PM
12.5.06
Has anyone successfully predicted an earthquake? Very few earthquakes have been successfully predicted. In 1975, near Haicheng, China, 90,000 people were evacuated a few hours before a Magnitude 7.3 earthquake that destroyed 90 percent of the buildings. The prediction was based on unusual animal behaviour and a greatly increased number of small earthquakes (foreshocks) that suddenly stopped. However, one year later Chinese scientists wrongly predicted a major quake in Kwantung Province, and for two months millions of people lived in tents before authorities decided the prediction was wrong. 11:53 AM
5.5.06
Tsunami hazard in New Zealand Tsunamis result from massive disruptions of the sea floor, caused either by earthquakes, submarine or coastal landslides, or volcanic eruptions. New Zealand’s coast has been swept by tsunamis generated locally and at far distant places. Tsunamis generated off South America in 1868, 1877 and 1960 affected a large part of New Zealand’s east coast. In the 1820’s (date unknown), 1855 and 1947, local earthquakes generated tsunamis that were at least 10 metres high. Smaller waves have occurred at other times. 1:47 PM
