CRISISBOOM

A new threat of landslides has emerged near to the epicentre of the quake, where boulders loosened by the tremor have already killed two and crushed homes. An aerial survey by scientists found no surface trace of the fault, which is centred southeast of Christchurch. But the expedition found worrying evidence of slips on the crest of the Port Hills, and above Lyttelton, Rapaki and Sumner. Geologists would place monitoring stakes in the hills to measure whether the landslides were creeping towards populated areas.

Early investigations have suggested that the shallow earthquake was an aftershock of the September quake in Darfield, but did not come from the same faultline. GNS Science natural hazards platform manager Kelvin Barryman said tests indicated it occurred on a “blind” or unknown Read more…