Historical Disasters By Region
Earthquakes
•1891 - the Port Waikato earthquake (magnitude 6.0) breaks windows, rings bells and throws school children off their chairs.
•1922 - a swarm of earthquakes, described “an almost continuous throbbing”, occurs under Lake Taupo, the strongest reaching magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale.
•1964/65 - about 400 quakes rattle Taupo, the strongest about magnitude 4.5 on the Richter scale.
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Tsunami
•1960 - a tsunami from a huge earthquake in Chile results in the evacuation of Whitianga and Waihi.
Volcanoes
•26,500 years ago, Lake Taupo erupts in possibly the world’s largest eruption in modern history.
•1,800 years ago Lake Taupo erupts, filling all the major river valleys of the central North Island with pumice and ash. This eruption is reported by the Chinese and Romans.
Storms
•1936 - a cyclone destroys buildings, causes flooding and sinks boats.
•1939 - the worst snowstorm in 100 years kills livestock, blocks roads and halts trains.
•1968 - Cyclone Giselle causes much storm damage throughout the country.
•1988 - Cyclone Bola, one of the most notorious cyclones of recent history, batters the North Island.
•1996 - Cyclone Fergus brings torrential rain, flooding out thousands of campers and holiday-makers.
•1997 - during Cyclone Drena, only a fortnight after Fergus, waves wash over the top of a seawall and flood homes in Thames.
•2007 - torrential rain and gale force winds cause widespread flooding, slips, wind damage, and road closures.
Floods
•1985 - four people killed during floods in Thames Borough and Thames Valley region.
•1985 - flooding in Thames valley caused by a combination of rain and high tides results in $4 million damage.
•2002 - very heavy rain and strong winds, known as a weather bomb, destroy buildings and camping grounds in the Coromandel and South Waikato.
•2004 - intense rainfall and gale force winds in February cause flooding to many areas in New Zealand, leaving hundreds of people homeless, farmland covered in silt, sheep and cattle drowned or swept away, bridges damaged and roads closed.
•2007 - torrential rain and gale force winds cause widespread flooding.
Non-natural Disasters
•1918/19 - Spanish flu, our worst disaster, kills over 8,000 New Zealanders.
•1957/58 - the Asian flu comes in two waves, and affects about 70-80% of the population, though few people die.
•1968/69 - the Hong Kong flu reaches New Zealand. As it occurs mainly during the Christmas holidays, it does not spread as fast amongst schoolchildren and their families.
•1987 - a bush-fire above Thames requires the evacuation of 130 people.
•2009 - human cases of non-seasonal influenza A (H1N1) 'swine flu' resulting from human to human transmission are identified in Mexico in April, with subsequent spread to many other countries, including New Zealand. All of New Zealand’s cases have recently returned from travel in affected areas or are close contacts of cases. New Zealand continues its efforts to contain the influenza A (H1N1) swine flu virus and prevent community transmission. By late May case numbers in New Zealand remain stable, but the number of overseas cases being notified to the World Health Organisation continues to increase.