Seismicity

Seismicity is the frequency or number of earthquakes in a region. From 1960 to 2015 New Zealand has had 28,180 earthquakes. Many of these are small but around 250 are big enough to be felt. To prevent earthquake catastrophe they have strict building codes. In 2015 funding began for Natural Hazards Research Platform created by the Government for natural hazard research. Which encompasses five themes – building geological hazard models; predicting weather flood and coastal hazards; developing regional and national risk evaluation models; improving societal resilience; and improving the resilience of buildings and infrastructure. They do not have warning systems due to they think population will react with such warning. 

Resources

"Earthquake FAQ." - Earthquake. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

"Earthquake Facts and Statistics." - Earthquake. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

"New Zealand: Christchurch Earthquakes 2010-2011." - News. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

"Strict Building Codes Limit New Zealand Quake Damage - Business Insurance." Business Insurance. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

"Time to Invest in Quake Warning System?" Stuff. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

Plate Tectonics

New Zealand falls on the edge of both the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, which are two of the major plate tectonics. Subduction occurs as result of the North Island of New Zealand which is located in the Pacific place pushing towards the Australian Plate. The Australian Plate is being subjected under the Pacific Plate as well because the two plates underneath Fiordland are moving towards each other in south of New Zealand. The Alpine fault is also found running across almost the whole length of New Zealand. This makes major earthquakes very prone in New Zealand while being on a transform boundary.

Resources

"Tectonic Setting of New Zealand: Astride a Plate Boundary Which Includes the Alpine Fault, Alpine Fault, Department of Geology, University of Otago, New Zealand." Tectonic Setting of New Zealand: Astride a Plate Boundary Which Includes the Alpine Fault, Alpine Fault, Department of Geology, University of Otago, New Zealand. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

"Plate Collision in NZ." / Earthquakes at a Plate Boundary / Earthquakes / Science Topics / Learning / Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

Catastrophe, Disaster and Hazard

A catastrophe is a disaster which would take many years to recover from because it is so large. Hurrican Katrina is an example of a catastrophe. A disaster is a dangerous event that develops over limited time span. There is a certain criteria which would be considered a natural disaster. A natural hazard is a event that could be a threat to life and property, examples of a natural hazard are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and landslides.