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Earthquakes in the Pacific Islands Region are upsetting for tourists and locals, alike. The recent rumbles in New Zealand have caused much speculation about the long term effects of the latest quake, and how to more accurately gauge future earthquakes for the safety of citizens. The Christchurch rumbles were minor, compared to the damaging assault the Pacific Islands endured. The area, now, seems to be settling back into normalcy, even as the aftershocks serve a threatening reminder to Canterbury.
Nigel Simpson, of the Hawkes Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, reported that the earthquake’s effects were felt strongly in Poranghau. Another earthquake, taking place in the nearby Waipawa, left people worried and anxious with apocalyptic fears. These fears seem well-founded to some, who know that the last tremors that were equally damaging were way back in 1931. Others see the earthquake as a long-awaited horror, that, once over, will not revisit again for nearly a century.
It has been reported to locals that the two earthquakes, though separated by mere days and few miles, were not at all related. This news, according to GNS Science, and agreed upon by seismologist Brian Ferris, occured on two different fault lines, and thus could not be related directly. Ferris called the two incidents “typical” of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, though many see these earthquakes as worthy of coverage by the news and journalism in the Pacific Islands. Though a lovely area, news and journalism in the Pacific Islands is rarely as intriguing as these two quakes, many readers of the New Zealand Herald would agree.
The current calamities of Canterbury are the result of un-reinforced buildings, bridges and byways. The aftershocks, which have been atypically large, have upset the earth around many structures, leaving building code inspectors nervous about the near and distant future for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
