[Wooly_Cow]

Whilst posting on this site today in answer to the old question ‘Where’s the best place to live in Wellington’, I added a bit about earthquake, landslip and tsunami risk. I’d never seen this topic raised before with regards to where to live suburb wise.

The council publish a risk map for Central Wellington, Porirua, and the Hutt Valley. http://www.gw.govt.nz/story4258.cfm.

Did anyone living in Wellington think about the risks before renting or especially buying a house here?

The reason I ask is that I now live here (renting in Seatoun, which will either crumble due to shaking, disappear into the liquefied mud or get swapped by a tidal wave) and am quite happy to be where I am (my attitude is ‘what will be will be’ – I know it’s irresponsible but my emergency plan is I’ve got a large torch, bottles of water and there’s a 4 Square next door!). However my OH (who is still in the UK) says she won’t be able to sleep at night if she’s worried about living in a high risk area (I know she should have thought about that before picking Wellington!)…..and she didn’t see that documentary film shown here a few weeks back about the ‘Big One’.

Any thoughts? :uhoh

[Familyofmonkeys]

Your OH sounds like me......OH was offered the choice between Wellington and Auckland when he was recruited, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I was living on a faultline......so we're in Auckland!

[buzztalks]

it's not a matter of if, more when.

[Tui2too]

its late at night here in canada and we're on dial-up....any chance someone wants to summarize from this site which is the safest suburb (safest from quakes and tsunamis) for me?
everytime I look at houses on the internet I discount those right by the sea or on a steep hill ...definitely something we'll think about before renting/buying.
-----------------
OH's job starts March 09 in Wellington
house not listed yet
eoi not submitted yet
16 yr old not convinced yet to join his siblings and us on our great adventure
stressed over how to fit 2400 sq ft into 2 suitcases each!

[Wooly_Cow]

Your OH sounds like me......OH was offered the choice between Wellington and Auckland when he was recruited, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing I was living on a faultline......so we're in Auckland!

...with a bloody great volcano in the harbour...but I do take your point.

[Wooly_Cow]

its late at night here in canada and we're on dial-up....any chance someone wants to summarize from this site which is the safest suburb (safest from quakes and tsunamis) for me?
everytime I look at houses on the internet I discount those right by the sea or on a steep hill ...definitely something we'll think about before renting/buying.
-----------------
OH's job starts March 09 in Wellington
house not listed yet
eoi not submitted yet
16 yr old not convinced yet to join his siblings and us on our great adventure
stressed over how to fit 2400 sq ft into 2 suitcases each!

Way too complicated but basically flat bits near the harbour = tsunami or reclaimed land so shakes and liquifaction (CBD, Lyall Bay, Seatoun).

Any hillside is subject to landslip risk (quakes or heavy rain)

Lower risks blocks in virutally every suburb but generally Johnsonville is the saftest large area as well as Porirua area.

[Wooly_Cow]

it's not a matter of if, more when.

Yup - but when could be in 1500 years or 15 seconds so why worry? ;)

[IanW99]

...
Lower risks blocks in virutally every suburb but generally Johnsonville is the saftest large area as well as Porirua area.

Bit of a generalisaton, Porirua has a major fault line running through it and has suffered several major earthquakes. But I take the point that many of the suburbs do get a low hazard rating.

I must admit you do have some interesting priorities on which suburbs to live in?

Anywhere that overlooks state housing is a no go, but if it is subject to tsunami and earthquakes then that's fine?:exit

:D

Ian

[Derv]

Before we decided to emigrate to NZ, one of our Kiwi friends said to us "if you are worried about living near fault-lines, volcanoes or anything else geologically active, don't move to NZ". He was totally correct - NZ is probably one of the most geologically active (and interesting) countries in the world with plenty of earthquakes, lots of volcanoes (including Ruapehu, Taranaki and all those smaller ones in the Auckland volcano field) and a good-sized geothermal area as well as several very major faultlines in both main islands. And NZ is on a subduction zone (otherwise known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire") which causes most of this geological activity.

It's all really fascinating, although but the geothermal area around Rotorua is not as spectacular as Iceland IMHO :exit

[Wooly_Cow]

Bit of a generalisaton, Porirua has a major fault line running through it and has suffered several major earthquakes. But I take the point that many of the suburbs do get a low hazard rating.

I must admit you do have some interesting priorities on which suburbs to live in?

Anywhere that overlooks state housing is a no go, but if it is subject to tsunami and earthquakes then that's fine?:exit

:D

Ian

I based my comments about Johnsonville and Porirua on the suburbs with the largest areas of lower risk zones (blue) on the councils maps. Most of the suburbs surrounding Porirua fall into this category.

[Wooly_Cow]

I must admit you do have some interesting priorities on which suburbs to live in?

Anywhere that overlooks state housing is a no go, but if it is subject to tsunami and earthquakes then that's fine?:exit

:D

Ian

IMHO - I don't think you can avoid the geological risks living in Wellington (in fact probably in many places in New Zealand). The recent TV film gave me the impression (maybe incorrectly) that no matter where you are, as and when a big quake hits it's going to be serious. So for me it's not a major factor in determining where to live (It is for my OH but she's not here yet so whilst I currently live in a higher risk location, I'm looking for places with reduced risk for her)

However in a city full of beautiful views, I do think you have the choice about what's in those views (sea, hills, or housing)....

Like I said - IMHO ! :o

[ourquest]

The geological hazard zone maps are a combination of different risk factors. So reducing risk (when choosing where to live) is relatively easy if you think of the risk not so much as "earthquake" but of the secondary risks associated with it.

For a start, a tsunami is not going to directly affect your property if you are 35m or more above sea level, combined with the fact that the west coast is generally less risk than the east coast (of North Island as a whole) which makes the southern parts of Wellington more at risk than Porirua, since the waves will refract around the coast losing energy (and this assumes most likely epicentre/source of tsunami to be east of NZ).

Landslide risk is substantially reduced with decreasing slope angle, so don't choose a house which clings to a steep slope. Historically stable, well drained and unmodified slopes and ones where the slope angle does not coincide with angle (dip) of the bedding plane of the rock material below are also less risky...so it gets complicated and that's what hazard mapping is all about.

Ground shaking might be related to proximity to the epicenter (and hence proximity to fault lines) but not in absolute terms. The crust is heterogenous and the transfer of energy is not consistent from one material to the next. Whatever the actual ground conditions at your house site, your actual risk will be determined by the structure you are in...ie how earthquake proof your house is. The house moving round isn't going to hurt you...it's the stuff which falls off it or out of it you have to be careful of. And you might of course not be at home when it matters.

But my overall point is that you can take steps or decisions to minimise your risk. It isn't just a case of "if it hits there is nothing you can do about it". The things you do about it you do beforehand so that you are better prepared.

As an aside, a waterfront property is also at severe long-term risk to sea level change. It might not be that it ends up underwater exactly, but as sea level rises so the impact from big storms will affect buildings which would previously have escaped damage.

[M-Squared]

Well..... after 14 months here I've still not felt so much as a wiggle. Felt more in Illinois! We're on a cut-out plot, not build-up, so much better for land stability. Hadn't seen that hazard map before, but very pleased to see that, even in Porirua, we're in a low to medium risk area. :nice1 :)

[Mrs Pony]

I think recent events show that no where is REALLY safe...there have been a lot of natural disasters lately (mother nature is pissed about something!) For instance here in the US, Florida always has Hurricanes... people happened to move away from Florida to get away from it and the there was Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans... no one expected that...

[Wooly_Cow]

The geological hazard zone maps are a combination of different risk factors. So reducing risk (when choosing where to live) is relatively easy if you think of the risk not so much as "earthquake" but of the secondary risks associated with it.

For a start, a tsunami is not going to directly affect your property if you are 35m or more above sea level, combined with the fact that the west coast is generally less risk than the east coast (of North Island as a whole) which makes the southern parts of Wellington more at risk than Porirua, since the waves will refract around the coast losing energy (and this assumes most likely epicentre/source of tsunami to be east of NZ).

Landslide risk is substantially reduced with decreasing slope angle, so don't choose a house which clings to a steep slope. Historically stable, well drained and unmodified slopes and ones where the slope angle does not coincide with angle (dip) of the bedding plane of the rock material below are also less risky...so it gets complicated and that's what hazard mapping is all about.

Ground shaking might be related to proximity to the epicenter (and hence proximity to fault lines) but not in absolute terms. The crust is heterogenous and the transfer of energy is not consistent from one material to the next. Whatever the actual ground conditions at your house site, your actual risk will be determined by the structure you are in...ie how earthquake proof your house is. The house moving round isn't going to hurt you...it's the stuff which falls off it or out of it you have to be careful of. And you might of course not be at home when it matters.

But my overall point is that you can take steps or decisions to minimise your risk. It isn't just a case of "if it hits there is nothing you can do about it". The things you do about it you do beforehand so that you are better prepared.

As an aside, a waterfront property is also at severe long-term risk to sea level change. It might not be that it ends up underwater exactly, but as sea level rises so the impact from big storms will affect buildings which would previously have escaped damage.


Wow - brill answer - thanks :nice1

[NikT]

NZ sits on the Pacific Ring Of Fire.:exit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ring_of_Fire

Nowhere is really safe, and like has been said;

It's not if it will happen but when.:yes

Nick.:cheers

[Janey]

but its not where you live that matters its where you are when it happens you could live in the safest area but be at work in CBD or shopping along lamerton quay I live just outside Johnsonville however work in Newtown which is not great in a quake we have been told when it happens we need to get back to work asap um that will be hard, if at home I would go to Porirua hospital and help there.

[ourquest]

but its not where you live that matters its where you are when it happens

It might happen when you are at home so where you live obviously does matter in terms of your risk. Most people are in their homes for the majority of each 24 hr period. So just because you might not be at home at the time doesn't make choosing where you have your house irrelevant in the context of earthquake. And I think that even if you are at work when it happens it would be better if your house doesn't end up under water or at the bottom of your garden.

[BkyMonster]

Was talking to a woman at the gym and I told her I used to live in California (she was asking about places to go and things to see and I did live there for many years) and she wondered about the earthquakes there. I had to laugh at her as it is certainly no worse there than here.

[JohnnyD]

I would imagine, with the position of NZ near plate boundaries, you guys must experience quite a few earthquakes. I'm from California as well, and I have heard of Australia's fire season... does NZ have an active one as well?

[BkyMonster]

From what I understand the NZ fire season isn't really that bad. There are fires but they don't nearly reach the scope of the western US,.

[lascar]

havent consider this risk seriously.
I live in Lyall Bay of Welly now. I felt some earthquakes in Palmy as well in the past 4 years.

[ant7jen]

I was on Goggle Earth the other day and there is an application where you can see all of the earthquake activity from the 60's up until now. The smaller earthquakes have a small icon and the larger earthquakes have a larger icon. The day I checked, there were 3 earthquakes it recorded within 3 hours. It is pretty cool think to look at if you want to research the activity in New Zealand. This is not regular Google maps but Google Earth.

[SunnyNelson]

Earthquakes in NZ - near Realtime updates
If you are interested in seeing the number or location of earthquakes in New Zealand, then can recommend that you go here .....
http://www.geonet.org.nz/ and you'll notice there is an RSS feed on the upper right hand side. Subscribe to that and you'll feel like you are living in NZ, all via your email inbox.
All the best

[Chiba]

Did 10 years in Tokyo, now living in Welly. Both are "overdue" (what tosh!) for their respective "big ones". If it happens, it happens. My wife lived in Kobe during their 6.8 and she's not stressed either. Just prepare, practice a couple of times a year, then don't worry about it.