Thursday, 18 February 2021, 12:15 pm
GNS Science experts have embarked on a research project
to determine the earthquake risk of a recently discovered
fault in the Waikato.
This is part of an effort to
better understand quake risk in parts of New Zealand that
are traditionally seen as safe from quakes.
Thanks to
improved aerial mapping tools, scientists recently
discovered the Te Puninga fault, 27km from Hamilton, that
could potentially generate a 6.7 magnitude
earthquake.
Dr Pilar Villamor, an earthquake geologist
at GNS Science, is heading up an EQC-funded project to study
the fault, about 3km from Morrinsville.
Dr Villamor
says that researchers estimate the fault could generate a