Bay Earthquake Research Articles

Epicenter of the Hawke Bay (New Zealand) earthquake and travel-times of condensational waves

Epicenter of the Hawke Bay (New Zealand) earthquake and travel-times of condensational waves

The Rebuilding of Napier and Hastings

The New Zealand correspondent of the Times, in the issue for May 5, has given an interesting account of the rebuilding and repair of the towns damaged by the Hawkes Bay earthquake of Feb. 3, 1931. The total loss was estimated at about six million pounds. One-quarter of this amount was provided by the Government, and public subscriptions added nearly £350,000. In Napier, nearly the whole of the business quarter was destroyed. The work of reconstruction includes the widening and replanning of many streets, the laying down of about 20 miles of main sewers, and the provision of new artesian wells or the repair of old ones sufficient to give a supply of four million gallons daily. An unexpected gain from the earthquake is an extensive area of new land. Before the earthquake, plans had been made to reclaim certain shallow parts of the harbour. This work is now unnecessary, as the earthquake raised the level of the land by five or six feet. About 7000 acres of the new land, it is proposed, will be converted into farming land, and the long marine parade will be widened and beautified.