Extent of shaking, Marlborough earthquake, 16 October 1848

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.

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 extent of shaking from the Marlborough earthquake of 16 October 1848. The isoseismal lines radiate from the epicentre in the Awatere valley with intensity 9. The earthquake was felt over much of central New Zealand. Wellington (intensity 7) was badly shaken, and three people were killed there.

Using this item

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.

All images & media in this story