What caused the Christchurch Earthquake 2011?

The earthquake was caused by the rupture of a 15-kilometre-long fault along the southern edge of the city, from Cashmere to the Avon–Heathcote estuary. The fault slopes southward beneath the Port Hills and did not break the surface – scientists used instrument measurements to determine its location and movement.

What were the causes of the Christchurch earthquake?

The earthquake’s epicentre was located some 25 miles (40 km) west of Christchurch near the town of Darfield, and the focus was located about 6 miles (10 km) beneath the surface. It was caused by right-lateral movement along a previously unknown regional strike-slip fault in the western section of the Canterbury Plains.

What plate boundary caused the Christchurch earthquake?

Tectonic setting & Cause

Regardless, the earthquake was created along a conservative plate margin where the Pacific Plate slid past the Australian Plate in the opposite direction. The earthquake occurred on a fault running off this major plate boundary.

Why did the earthquake happen 2011?

The earthquake was caused by the rupture of a stretch of the subduction zone associated with the Japan Trench, which separates the Eurasian Plate from the subducting Pacific Plate.

What happened in the 2011 New Zealand earthquake?

On , a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch shortly before 12:50pm at a shallow depth of four kilometres. Several aftershocks were reported, some registering at a 5.6 magnitude.

How are earthquakes caused?

The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth’s crust and cause the shaking that we feel.

What damage did liquefaction cause in Christchurch 2011?

The earthquake caused 182 fatalities, collapse of two multi-storey reinforced concrete buildings, collapse or partial collapse of many unreinforced masonry structures including the historic Christchurch Cathedral.

How is liquefaction caused?

Liquefaction occurs when the structure of a loose, saturated sand breaks down due to some rapidly applied loading. As the structure breaks down, the loosely-packed individual soil particles attempt to move into a denser configuration.

Why is Christchurch vulnerable to liquefaction?

Groundwater levels move up and down over time. Earthquake shaking – Stronger earthquake shaking causes more of the soil profile to liquefy and causes more severe ground damage.

Why do buildings survive earthquakes?

Conventional buildings shake with the ground in an earthquake. They may sustain structural damage but are designed to remain standing. The stronger the earthquake, the more the building moves in response. … Buildings that use base isolation are more likely to survive a strong earthquake and be functional afterward.

How does Japan protect themselves from tsunamis?

As with most tsunami-prone areas, Japan has developed a mixed strategy that primarily relies on evacuation rather than defense. As seismic detection and preemptive warnings improve, death tolls can, and likely will be, reduced over time.

Are high-rises safe in an earthquake?

High-rise or low-rise, the design of any building would largely determine its survival during an earthquake. Modern high-rises, in low seismicity areas, are designed to withstand lateral loads, especially wind forces which may be much higher than those from earthquakes.

Are Taller buildings more prone to earthquakes?

Tall High Rises:

Similarly, a skyscraper will sustain greater shaking by long period earthquake waves, than by the shorter waves.

Do houses collapse in earthquakes?

Most collapses that occur during earthquakes aren’t caused by the earthquake itself. Instead, when the ground moves beneath a building, it displaces the foundation and lower levels, sending shock waves through the rest of the structure and causing it to vibrate back and forth.

Why is the building shaking?

Vibration may be caused by nearby traffic or subways, building mechanical systems, or simply normal human activity, such as walking across the floor. This vibration does not jeopardize the building’s structural integrity. Yet, while the actual movement may be minimal, human perception of motion is significant.

Could a catastrophic earthquake really destroy Seattle?

And there, based on where the major fault lines run, the earthquake will be so strong it will temporarily overcome the force of gravity, flinging houses (and people) into the air. In Seattle, the shaking will likely be strong enough to topple at least one skyscraper (but not the Space Needle).

Can California fall into the ocean?

No, California is not going to fall into the ocean. California is firmly planted on the top of the earth’s crust in a location where it spans two tectonic plates.

Will the big one happen?

But the United States Geological Survey estimates a 51% chance that a quake as big as the one described in HayWired will occur in the region within three decades. It’s one of several West Coast disasters so likely that researchers have prepared painstakingly detailed scenarios in an attempt to ready themselves.

Is the Cascadia earthquake coming?

According to the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, “scientists predict the chances that a mega-CSZ earthquake will occur within the next 50 years are about one in ten.” This chart shows the frequency of major quakes along the Cascadia Subduction Zone over the last 10,000 years.

What 2 things saved many lives in the 2011 Japanese earthquake?

Residents of Tokyo received a minute of warning before the strong shaking hit the city, thanks to Japan’s earthquake early warning system. The country’s stringent seismic building codes and early warning system prevented many deaths from the earthquake, by stopping high-speed trains and factory assembly lines.

Did Seattle just have an earthquake?

There were no significant confirmed earthquakes in or near Seattle in the past 24 hours.

What cities will be affected by the Cascadia earthquake?

A Cascadia Subduction earthquake will impact an estimated 140,000 square miles, an area nearly as large as the size of California. The impacted area will include the large metropolitan cities Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, and both State Capitals of Oregon (Salem) and Washington (Olympia).

How deep is the Cascadia trench?

From its surface trace offshore to a depth of possibly 5 km, all remote from land, observations are few and it remains unknown whether the fault is stuck or slipping silently.

How far inland will the Cascadia earthquake reach?

The shaking will be felt for hundreds of miles – from the coast all the way inland to Boise, Idaho, even to the southeast toward Sacramento in California. As one section of the sea floor drops, so will the ocean water above it creating a massive tsunami that will inundate low-lying coastal communities.

How far inland can a 100 ft tsunami go?

Most tsunamis are less than 10 feet high when they hit land, but they can reach more than 100 feet high. When a tsunami comes ashore, areas less than 25 feet above sea level and within a mile of the sea will be in the greatest danger. However, tsunamis can surge up to 10 miles inland.

Can you surf a tsunami?

You can’t surf a tsunami because it doesn’t have a face. Many people have the misconception that a tsunami wave will resemble the 25-foot waves at Jaws, Waimea or Maverick’s, but this is incorrect: those waves look nothing like a tsunami.

Can you survive a tsunami with a life jacket?

As our experiments demonstrated, it can be concluded that when people are engulfed within tsunami waves, PFDs will provide them with a higher chance of survival because they will remain on the surface of tsunami waves and are still able to breathe.