Story: Historic earthquakes

Extent of shaking, Hawke’s Bay earthquake, 3 February 1931

The Modified Mercalli scale (from 1 to 12) measures earthquakes by the intensity of shaking observed. Reports from historical records and diaries have been used to compile this map, which shows the shaking from the Hawke’s Bay earthquake of 3 February 1931. A total of 256 people were killed, mainly in the urban centres of Napier and Hastings, and the earthquake was widely felt over much of the North Island.

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Source: G. L. Downes, Atlas of isoseismal maps of New Zealand earthquakes. Lower Hutt: Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, 1995.

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How to cite this page:

Eileen McSaveney, 'Historic earthquakes - The 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/4548/extent-of-shaking-hawkes-bay-earthquake-3-february-1931 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 28 Mar 2011, updated 1 Nov 2017