The 2013 Seddon earthquake measured 6.5 on the scale and was centred in New Zealand's Cook Strait, around east of the town of Seddon in Marlborough. The earthquake struck at 5:09 pm on Sunday 21 July 2013 (05:09 UTC) at a depth of , according to GeoNet. The

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

also measured the quake at 6.5, at a depth of . The quake caused moderate damage in the wider Marlborough area and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, the nation's capital city north of the epicentre. Only minor injuries were reported. Several aftershocks occurred during 21–29 July. The Seddon earthquake is considered the first of an earthquake doublet, with a second earthquake of similar magnitude occurring on 16 August 2013.

Earthquake

The earthquake occurred on a previously unknown fault. 2013 Seddon Earthquake Shakemap

Foreshocks

The earthquake was preceded by a series of foreshocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.7. Below is a list of all foreshocks magnitudes 5.0 and above that occurred in the region between 19 July 2013 and 21 July 2013.

Aftershocks

The earthquake generated a series of aftershocks, the largest of which had a magnitude of 5.4. Below is a list of all aftershocks magnitudes 5.0 and above that occurred in the region between 21 July 2013 and 2 August 2013.

Damage

The quake resulted in varying degrees of damage to 35 buildings within the Wellington CBD with glass from broken windows falling onto the main thoroughfares of Lambton Quay, Featherston Street, and Willis Street. Damage was also caused in

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. It is also known to residents as Pram or Paraparam. Like other towns in the area, it has a ...

, Wainuiomata,

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

and the Hutt Valley in the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. In December 2013, the Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) claimed that the insurance loss of this earthquake reached NZ$14.9 million (US$11.8 million). The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office was activated on the evening of 21 July, as were those in the lower part of the North Island. On 22 July parts of Wellington's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

were closed to the public to allow for inspections to buildings with damaged and potentially dangerous façades. Four people were injured in the quake, which lasted for 20 seconds, blowing out windows, cracking concrete and swaying buildings. To clean up the mess, a

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group of over 300 Wellington students was created, named Student Volunteer Army Wellington. It was inspired by the Student Volunteer Army in Christchurch, created in response to the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...

Response

After the earthquake, the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office started organising a Long Walk Home event, where people walk 30kilometres from central Wellington to Mana, to simulate an scenario where roads and public transport are unusable. NIWA started a seabed survey three days after the earthquake.

References

External links

Cook Strait earthquakes, science update
– GNS Science * {{Seismic faults of New Zealand 2013 earthquakes 2013 Seddon Seddon earthquake Doublet earthquakes July 2013 in New Zealand 2013 disasters in New Zealand