1929 Arthur’s Pass earthquake. M7.1

The 1929 Arthur’s Pass earthquake occurred at 10:50 pm NZMT on 9 March. The sparsely settled region around Arthur’s Pass of the Southern Alps shook for four minutes.[1] Tremors continued almost continuously until midnight and sporadic strong aftershocks were felt for several days. The earthquake was measured at 7.1 on the Richter magnitude scale and the intensity of shaking in the epicentral region has been assessed from […]

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Cyclone Bola

Severe Tropical Cyclone Bola was one of the costliest cyclones in the history of New Zealand,[1] causing severe damage as an extratropical cyclone when it passed near the country in March 1988. It formed on February 24 to the north of Fiji, and tracking generally southwestward it reached hurricane-force winds near Vanuatu on February 28. The next day it generated peak wind velocities of 195 km/h

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1934 Pahiatua earthquake, M7.6

The 1934 Pahiatua earthquake struck at 11:46 pm on 5 March, causing severe damage in much of the lower North Island. Wairarapa, Wellington and Hawke’s Bay (which was still recovering from the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake) felt the strongest levels of shaking, with much of New Zealand feeling the tremor. This earthquake has historically been referred to as the Pahiatua earthquake, but recent reviews of its epicentre place

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1987 Edgecumbe earthquake

The 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake measured 6.5 on the moment magnitude scale and struck the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand at 1:42 pm on 2 March.[3] The hypocentre was at a shallow depth of 8 km. The epicentre was 2.24 kilometres (1.39 mi) south-south-east of the town of Matata, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north-north-west of Edgecumbe, on the Rangitaiki Plains (the floodplain of the Rangitaiki River, the Tarawera River and the Whakatane River). It was the

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2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption

On 9 December 2019, Whakaari / White Island, an active stratovolcano island in New Zealand’s northeastern Bay of Plenty region, explosively erupted.[3] The island was a popular tourist destination, known for its volcanic activity, and 47 people were on the island at the time. Twenty-two people died, either in the explosion or from injuries sustained, including two whose bodies were never found

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Mount Erebus disaster, 28 November 1979

The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE901)[nb 1] flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board.[1][2] Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled Antarctic sightseeing flights since 1977. This flight was supposed to leave Auckland Airport in the morning and spend a few hours flying over the Antarctic continent, before returning to

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1970 Bhola cyclone

The 1970 Bhola cyclone (also known as the Great Cyclone of 1970[1]) was a devastating tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) and India’s West Bengal on November 12, 1970.[2] It remains the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the world’s deadliest humanitarian disasters. At least 300,000 people died in the storm,[3] possibly as many as 500,000,[4][5] primarily as a result of the storm surge that flooded much

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Tropical Storm Linda (1997)

Severe Tropical Storm Linda, also known as Typhoon Linda, Cyclonic Storm Linda (BOB 08), or in the Philippines as Tropical Depression Openg, was the worst typhoon in southern Vietnam in at least 100 years, killing thousands of people and leaving extensive damage. It formed on October 31, 1997, in the South China Sea, between Indochina and the Philippines. Strengthening as it moved westward, Linda struck extreme southern

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Eruption on Whakaari (White Island) kills 10 people

10 September 1914 Attempts were first made to mine sulfur on Whakaari (White Island) in the late 19th century. Sulfur was used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid and superphosphate fertiliser. On 10 September 1914, 10 miners were killed when part of the crater wall collapsed, causing a landslide. The only survivor was the mining

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