Historical Disasters By Region
Earthquakes
•1843 - during the magnitude 7.5 Wanganui earthquake, a large part of Shakespeare Cliff breaks away, and buildings are destroyed. Putiki’s church is destroyed.
•1848 - magnitude 7.1 Marlborough earthquake causes the Wanganui River bank to rise by 1 metre.
•1855 - magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa earthquake cracks iron pan under Gonville swamp, draining it. Putiki’s new brick church is destroyed again.
•1897 - a magnitude 7.0 quake in Wanganui results in damaged crockery, levelled chimneys, cut water supplies, cracks in the ground and damaged railway tracks.
•1934 - a magnitude 7.6 quake damages buildings and destroys chimneys in and around Pahiatua.
•1982 - 19 earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 3.6 to 5.7, near Wanganui.
•1991 - magnitude 6.5 Bulls earthquake, 1000 chimneys damaged, 2140 EQC claims.
topVolcanoes
•Since 1839, Mount Ngauruhoe has erupted over 60 times, the last eruption was in 1975.
•1953 - a lahar from Mount Ruapehu destroys a rail bridge at Tangiwai.
151 people are killed when a train plunges into the river.
•1995/96 - black showers of ash from Mount Ruapehu disrupt air and ground traffic, and bring the ski season to an early end.
•2007 - the dam on the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu collapses, generating a lahar which creates a standing wave of about 3-4 metres in height as it passes down the Whangaehu River. The alarm system is activated, and there are no injuries.
Storms
•1936 - a cyclone destroys buildings and derails trains.
•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.
Floods
•1858 - flood waters inundate Putiki and Putiki Pa.
•1904 - four feet of water in Taupo Quay, Wanganui East flooded, a house and shop on Putiki Drive fall into river.
•1940 - flood raises river 60 feet, four feet higher than high flood mark of 1904. Lower areas of Victoria Avenue are completely flooded.
•1988 - flooding in Palmerston North results in the evacuation of 1,200 people.
•1990 - Cyclone Hilda causes the Whanganui River to flood, and 96 homes are evacuated.
•1994 - flooding in Wanganui.
•1998 - flooding in Ohura damages homes, and rising water results in many evacuations in Wanganui.
•2004 - floods leave hundreds of people homeless, farmland covered in silt, sheep and cattle stock drowned or swept away, bridges damaged and roads closed.
•2006 - people evacuated because of expected flooding in the Whangaehu Valley.
Non-natural Disasters
•1918 - Raetihi wildfire destroys over 150 homes.
•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.
•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.