A “megathrust” quake could swamp New Zealand’s coast with a tsunami like that which killed 1600 people in Japan in 2011, according to geologists investigating a faultline they fear is waking up.
Last November, the “Kaikoura quake”, caused the strongest ever recorded ground shaking in the country.
One year on, however, and scientists are warning that the 7.8 Kaikoura quake “wasn’t the big one”, and appears to have awoken a faultline that runs under the seabed alongside the whole east coast of the north island.Geologists say that the fault, known as the Hikarangi subduction zone, could unleash a 9.0 quake, triggering a tsunami that would arrive at the nearby coast as quickly as 7 minutes.
