Marlborough earthquake, 1848

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Level Four:

Generally noticed indoors as a jolt, or similar to vibration from heavy traffic; glassware and crockery rattle; liquids slightly disturbed; buildings may creak.
Level Five:

Generally felt indoors and outside; most sleepers wakened and a few people alarmed; small objects displaced and broken; a few windows cracked.
Level Six:

Felt by all; people and animals alarmed; difficulty in walking steadily; objects fall from shelves; unstable furniture tipped over; slight damage to some masonry buildings and weak chimneys damaged.
Level Seven:

General alarm; difficulty standing; car drivers may stop; unreprced stone and brick walls cracked, and some buildings damaged; unrestrained water cylinders may move and burst; small rockfalls and landslides.
Level Eight:

Alarm may approach panic; cars hard to steer; some buildings damaged, and weaker ones may collapse; small to moderate landslides; water generally disturbed.
Level Nine:

Many buildings damaged and some collapse; unsecured houses move off foundations; brick veneers collapse; widespread cracking and landsliding.

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The Marlborough earthquake of 16 October 1848 was felt throughout much of central New Zealand. The limited number of inhabitants at the quake’s epicentre – on the shore of Cloudy Bay – meant no one died in Marlborough, but the ground shaking was very strong and chimneys collapsed. In Wellington, three people were killed.

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