1929 Murchison earthquake

1929 Murchison earthquake

Date	17 June 1929 (1929-06-17)
Origin time	10:17 AM local
Magnitude	M_s 7.8, M_w 7.3^[1]
Depth	12km
Epicenter	41°33′S 172°15′E / 41.55°S 172.25°E / -41.55; 172.25Coordinates: 41°33′S 172°15′E / 41.55°S 172.25°E / -41.55; 172.25^[1]
Areas affected	South Island New Zealand
Casualties	17

The 1929 Murchison earthquake occurred at 10:17 AM on 17 June. It struck the Murchison region of the South Island, with an estimated magnitude of 7.3, and was felt throughout New Zealand. There were 17 casualties, mostly as a result of landslides triggered by the earthquake. The rumbling sound of the earthquake was loud enough to be heard at New Plymouth, more than 250 km away.^[2]

Tectonic setting

Major active fault zones of New Zealand showing variation in displacement vector of Pacific Plate relative to Australian Plate along the boundary

New Zealand sits astride the boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate. In the South Island most of the displacement is taken up on the Alpine Fault passing to the north onto a set of strike-slip faults, the Marlborough Fault System. The sense of displacement across the plate boundary is oblique and most of the faults have a reverse component of slip. Some of the resulting deformation is accommodated within the plates themselves away from the boundary.^[3] The 1929 Murchison earthquake occurred on the White Creek Fault, located in the Buller Gorge.^[1]

Damage

Although the epicentre was in a sparsely populated area about 65 km north of Murchison, the shaking in the surrounding region was sufficiently intense to cause damage over a wide area. The towns of Nelson, Greymouth and Westport were all affected and roads, buildings and bridges were severely damaged throughout an area estimated at 26,000 km².^[1] The worst damage was caused by landslides triggered by the shaking, which destroyed several homes and resulting in 14 out of the 17 deaths caused by the earthquake. Most of the buildings in the Murchison area were built of wood and were warped and moved from their piles, but many brick buildings and chimneys were damaged in Nelson, Greymouth and Westport.^[2]

Characteristics

The earthquake was preceded by several foreshocks before the mainshock, accompanied by booming sounds in the mountains around Murchison.^[2] There was a large surface fault rupture visible in the Buller River, indicating about 4.5 m of vertical movement and 2.5 m of lateral movement. The earthquake triggered many landslides and these created 38 new lakes, of which 21 still exist, including Lake Stanley, on Stanley River.^[1] The earthquake was accompanied by unusually loud rumbling noises that were heard as far away as New Plymouth. A maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale has been estimated for Murchison. Most of the northern part of South Island suffered an intensity of VII (Very strong) or greater.^[2]

Aftermath

The landslides blocked many roads causing food supplies to run out in some areas near the epicenter. This and the risk from aftershocks and flooding from the landslides blocking rivers caused many residents to evacuate the area, mostly on foot. Karamea was completely cut off and received no outside help for two weeks, until a de Havilland Tiger Moth plane landed on the beach. Some of the blocked roads took months to clear.^[2]

References

1 2 3 4 5 GeoNet (17 June 1929). "M 7.8, Buller (Murchison),". Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
1 2 3 4 5 McSaveney, E. (2 March 2009). "The 1929 Arthur's Pass and Murchison earthquakes". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
↑ West Coast Regional Council (2002). "Earthquake Hazards" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1929 Murchison earthquake.

Landslide blog about the earthquake by Professor Dave Petley, Durham University, UK

← Earthquakes in 1929 →

Arthur's Pass (7.1, Mar 9) Kopet Dag (7.2, May 1) †‡ Murchison (7.8, June 17) Grand Banks (7.2, Nov 18)

† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths ‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

Earthquakes in New Zealand

Pre-colonisation	1100 Alpine Fault 1460 Wellington 1600s Alpine Fault 1717 Alpine Fault 1815 New Plymouth 1817 Fiordland 1826 Fiordland 1835 Manukau 1838 Waitotara Forest

19th century	1843 Wanganui† 1848 Marlborough† 1855 Wairarapa† 1863 Hawke's Bay 1868 Cape Farewell 1869 Christchurch 1888 North Canterbury

20th century	1901 Cheviot† 1904 Cape Turnagain 1921 Kaweka Forest 1929 Arthur's Pass 1929 Murchison† 1931 Hawke's Bay† 1934 Pahiatua† June 1942 Wairarapa August 1942 Wairarapa† 1947 Gisborne 1968 Inangahua† 1979 Invercargill 1986 Raoul Island 1987 Edgecumbe

21st century	2003 Fiordland 2007 Gisborne 2009 Fiordland 2010 Canterbury February 2011 Christchurch† June 2011 Christchurch† 2013 Seddon 2014 Eketahuna 2016 Christchurch 2016 Te Araroa 2016 Kaikoura†

Related articles	Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 Earthquake Commission

† indicates earthquake known to have resulted in fatalities

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