Introduction
Earthquakes are common phenomena in New Zealand. The islands in New Zealand regularly encounter noticeable earthquakes and tremors which occur two times every three days. The United States seismologists’ geological survey reveals that most of the tremors experienced in the area ranges from magnitude of five or more but the September 2010 tremor was of magnitude 7 (Picchiani, et, al. 2011). Despite the earthquake registered a magnitude of 6.3 which was approximately around magnitude 7, or merely eleven times weaker than the previous earthquakes it was enough to cause destruction of properties and loss of life. The role of the work is to focus on the period from the first earthquake in September 2010 and the second earthquake in February 2011. In particular, the work will focus on the aftershocks as a feature of daily life while the second section shall focus on describing the events of the 22nd February 2011 and after.
September 2010 earthquake aftershocks
Unlike the previous earthquakes experienced in Christchurch in New Zealand, the September 2010 earthquake in the area was believed to be more energetic but it cause less property destruction and loss of life. As a matter of fact, the Christchurch earthquake was definitely an aftershock of the previous aftershocks which had locked the area. The September 2010 earthquake was much more amazing because it was much closer to the Christchurch, shallower and arrived around the middle of the day. The earthquake was blames by many people for breaking a chunk of ice from the Tasman glacier in Aoraki Mount Cook (Salori, 2010). The Iceberg was destructive in nature as it resulted into the destruction of the city, destabilized the normal life of the Christchurch population and resulted to the loss of life. Although the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand focused on shallow depth of around 5km it resulted to severe ground shaking which was much closer to the city and yet the worst because it razed down the buildings in the city and weakened others which risked the life of many people in the Christchurch city.
Basically, New Zealand is a “Ring of Fire” because of the extraordinary geological activities experienced in the area. It is believed that for every ten earthquakes experienced in the globe, 9 are expected from the region. The reason for this is because New Zealand straddles between Australasian and pacific tectonic plates which grind slowly on one another (Henshall, 2012). The earthquake was so much energetic in nature the blind faults which had remained inactive for a long time become active on the very day. The fact that the Christchurch city lies on tectonically active area where the Alpine faults segments exists there was likelihood for extreme destruction of life and property despite how minimal the earthquake appeared.
The 22 February 2011 Earthquake in Christchurch city in New Zealand
Just like the September 2010 earthquake which had a magnitude of 6.3, the 22 February Earthquake was of the same magnitude but was felt was felt on both the North and South Island of the city. The fault which caused the earthquake was not experienced on the surface but it ran for more than 6 km south of the city (Garevski, 2013). Despite the fact that the February 2011 earthquake was of less magnitude than the September 2010 earthquake it had a greater impact. The fact that it happened at night most people in the city were asleep and the ground acceleration was of high magnitude. As a result, the earthquake resulted into injuries and fatalities in the Christchurch city in New Zealand.
It was estimated that approximately 185 people lost their life while thousands of families were seriously injured by the after month of the earthquake. In addition, the earthquake resulted into destruction of city buildings mostly on the south part of the city (Moore, 2011). Based on the after month survey, it was realized that more than 100, 000 buildings in the city were damaged while more than 10, 000 buildings in the city were required to be demolished. After the earthquake, the Christchurch city was subdivided into four zones. The un-damaged Green Zone was ready to be rebuilt again while the Orange Zone required more checks before reconstruction. Nevertheless, the Red Zones were declared inhabitable while the White Zones was safe for building construction and habiting (Murray, 2010). In conclusion, the September 2010 after months was the major cause of the February 2010 earthquake and the after months because the earthquake magnitude of 6.3 caused the faults which were later shaken by the earthquake which occurred later causing the destruction of the Christchurch city in New Zealand
