2010 Canterbury Earthquake technical information

Additional Info:

This message was posted on Tuesday 18 June 2013 at 11.30am.

Up to 130mm of rain fell in the South Canterbury and Waitaki Valley foothills and plains from early Sunday 16 June to late Monday.
All foothill rivers in the area peaked on Monday afternoon and flows are continuing to drop.

ECan staff are assessing the damage to the river systems and stopbanks. Stopbank breaches on the Lower Waihao River has reduced considerably the flood carrying capacity of this river. Other rivers may also have suffered damage.

The Met Service has advised ECan that the forecast southerly change on late Wednesday and Thursday is expected to bring little rain to the South Canterbury foothills and coastal area.

All farmers adjacent to foothill rivers are advised to check their own situation as even modest amounts of rain may result in a rapid rise in river levels.

This message will updated if the situation changes significantly.

Website links:

http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/river-flows/Pages/River-flows-south.aspx

http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/rainfall/Pages/rainfall-south-canterbury.aspx

Technical information about the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake, including links to other sites.

GeoNet

GeoNet is a collaboration between the Earthquake Commission and GNS Science.

Remote sensing and aerial photo information

Remote sensing imagery and aerial photograph datasets are available for work directly related to earthquake recovery, with some restrictions on use.
Find out more »

Liquefaction

Liquefaction happens during earthquakes. The ground shaking that occurs during an earthquake can cause some soils to liquefy. This means that during an earthquake these soils will behave more like a liquid than a solid.

Christchurch liquefaction information (pdf 1.91 MB)

The liquefaction potential and liquefaction ground damage potential ratings on the Environment Canterbury liquefaction maps are only an indication of the liquefaction potential in an area, based on limited soil and water table information in the vicinity. The information is not specific to individual properties. Soil conditions in Christchurch are highly variable and actual liquefaction potential at a site can only be determined by site-specific investigations.

Aftershocks animation

Zach Hill of Environment Canterbury has used GNS data to develop an animation showing the location and magnitude of Canterbury earthquakes from 4th-16th September 2010.

View the animation (gif 643 kB)