Civil defence declared a category 3 emergency, the highest possible for a regional disaster. The Christchurch earthquake caused extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings. Multiple buildings collapsed, and the city was impacted by burst water mains, flooding, liquefaction and power outages.

Wairarapa earthquake

The building collapse killed 115 persons, consisting of 16 Canterbury Television employees on Levels 1 & 2; 79 King’s Education staff (4), teachers (5) and foreign students (70) on Level 4; 19 medical centre staff (13), patients (5) and one patient’s friend on Level 5; and an Administrator for Relationship Services on …

The CTV building’s collapse was one of several investigated by the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission which reported in June 2012. The Royal Commission found that the building’s design relied ‘on the north wall complex and the south coupled shear wall to resist the lateral loads generated by earthquakes’.

Researchers have found that large earthquakes can result in post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety, including symptoms of reliving the event in your mind, struggling to concentrate and a state of “hyper-vigilance.”

aftershocks. Aftershocks are earthquakes that follow the largest shock of an earthquake sequence. They are smaller than the mainshock and within 1-2 rupture lengths distance from the mainshock. Aftershocks can continue over a period of weeks, months, or years.

An earthquake will be called an aftershock as long as the rate of earthquakes is higher than it was before the mainshock. Bigger earthquakes have more and larger aftershocks. The bigger the mainshock, the bigger the largest aftershock, on average, though there are many more small aftershocks than large ones.