Hacker News Reader

Comment by abalashov | Hacker News Reader

One concern I always have in the back of my mind about NZ is seismic activity. I thought of it since you mentioned Christchurch.

It's unlikely to be seen as a major downside by those living in California and along the Pacific Rim, and it's clear NZ is no worse than Japan in terms of seismic risk, yet an advanced economy with plenty of people thrives there, to put it mildly.

But coming from the US midwest and then the southeast, where these issues are seldom a concern, it makes me nervous.

What are your thoughts on that?

View on HN

It would for sure be a concern - and to be fair I don't know a whole lot about the risk other than it seems to be a volatile area - but probably no more so than the hurricanes, tornados etc we see here in parts of the US. From what I understand, the seismic risk is greater along the fault lines which run through Wellington and the South Island, so if you're based in Auckland you're probably more worried about a volcano suddenly springing back to life than you are an earthquake!

We are still expecting a very big earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_Fault

But, the earthquake that hit Christchurch directly removed the seismically vulnerable buildings, and typically we've built for earthquakes - hence why our predominant building material is wood not brick or stone.

Christchurch should be pretty safe now with all the dangerous building having come down and new buildings being built to high seismic standards. I personally would never consider Wellington as I believe the earthquake risk is too high.

Just don't go to Rotorua :)

The whole place feels like it's unstable and ready to blow ! I loved the city, but I'm not sure I could live there, with those constant remainders of the seismic activity (this plus the smell...)

I wouldn't worry about earthquakes in Rotorua - if you get any, they're a helpful warning of impending eruption ;)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taupo_Volcanic_Zone

Fun fact - Auckland is built on a large monogenetic volcanic field.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_volcanic_field

Reply on news.ycombinator.com