With the earthquakes that have occurred, there is a significant risk that the Canterbury area
will be subject to a period of increased seismicity. This should be considered as a possible
series of triggered events, rather than simply an aftershock sequence. There may be a period
of up to 50 years or more, during which the seismic hazard due to smaller events near
Christchurch is significantly increased.
This effect is similar to what has been experienced in the Nelson/Buller area, commencing
with the 1929 Murchison earthquake. There are a number of minor faults or fault systems
that may be suffering increased stress from the recent earthquakes, some of which are already
showing signs of increased activity.
A likely scenario from one of these faults is another earthquake in the Magnitude 6-6.5 range,
possibly again close to the CBD. This has the potential for similar actions to the Lyttelton
earthquake, that is, a short duration event, with high ground accelerations.
The assessed risk of another earthquake near Christchurch aggregates to approximately 6% on
an annual basis. Prior to the earthquakes, this probability might have been assessed as less