Extent of shaking, Wairarapa earthquake, 23 January 1855

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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.
Level Ten:

Widespread damage to buildings; many collapse or are partly destroyed; landsliding very widespread in steep terrain; severe liquefaction in soft ground.

Roll over isoseismal lines for information

The Modified Mercalli scale (from 1 to 12) measures earthquakes by the intensity of shaking observed. Reports from historical records and diaries – including information from ships at sea – were used to compile this map. It shows the intensity of shaking during the earthquake of 23 January 1855. From an intensity of 9 close to the epicentre in the Wairarapa, the isoseismal lines radiate outwards, recording the impact over much of central New Zealand. The number of people killed is uncertain, but is estimated to be between five and nine.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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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Panonihia te reo

Kōrero: Historic earthquakes

Extent of shaking, Wairarapa earthquake, 23 January 1855

Level Four:

Level Five:

Level Six:

Level Seven:

Level Eight:

Level Nine:

Level Ten:

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