The magnitude 8.3 June 23 2001 southern Peru earthquake and tsunami

Abstract

We present a precis of our reconnaissance trip to the area of the magnitude 8.3 June 23 2001 southern Peru earthquake and tsunami. The trip was undertaken because of the relevance of the event to hazard assessment in New Zealand. It is the best example in nearly 40 years of the maximum-size earthquake that might occur on the Hikurangi subduction zone, an event that is absent from the historical record of New Zealand (since 1840) and therefore of unknown potential in terms of hazard. Despite the great magnitude of this subduction interface earthquake, it produced only "moderately strong" levels of earthquake shaking (peak ground acceleration of 0.3g on alluvium from the one strong motion accelerograph in the earthquake area, and Modified Mercalli Intensity 8 in the epicentral area), and relatively minor ground damage (liquefaction and landslides). It did however produce a large and devastating tsunami. Our comparison of the one accelerograph record and attenuation curves for subduction interface earthquakes shows that the strength of shaking was typical for subduction interface earthquakes. If we apply our observations to New Zealand, they imply that a Hikurangi subduction interface earthquake may be less damaging to built-up areas in the southeastern part of the North Island (e.g. Wellington and Napier/Hastings) than earthquakes on major active faults in the shallow crust. However, the lateral extent of the strongest shaking in a subduction earthquake (300 km for the southern Peru event) and the associated tsunami generation will make the earthquake very significant in the national context.