Skip to main content

Kōrero: Historic earthquakes

Extent of shaking, Edgecumbe earthquake, 2 March 1987

Show placenames

  • 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.

Edgecumbe TAURANGA Gisborne Napier IX VIII VII VI V IV  

Roll over isoseismal lines for information

The Modified Mercalli scale (from 1 to 12) measures earthquakes by the intensity of shaking observed. This map shows the regional variation in shaking from the Edgecumbe earthquake. Maximum shaking intensity of 9 was felt close to the epicentre. Compared to some New Zealand earthquakes, this was relatively small, but it caused considerable industrial damage around Kawerau.

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.

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Eileen McSaveney, Historic earthquakes – The 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/interactive/4532/extent-of-shaking-edgecumbe-earthquake-2-march-1987 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Eileen McSaveney, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009, updated 1 November 2017.