​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Alert

IT system maintenance work this weekend

We’re carrying out scheduled maintenance work on some IT systems between 5pm Friday 4 April and 9am Monday 7 April 2025. Over this period, our property and rates search and online credit card payments may go offline at times. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Contact

Search

Hikurangi Subduction Zone

What is the Hikurangi Subduction Zone and how is it different to the Alpine Fault?

The Hikurangi Subduction Zone is potentially the largest source of earthquake and tsunami hazard in New Zealand. The Hikurangi plate boundary, located off the East Coast of the North Island, is where the Pacific tectonic plate subducts (or dives underneath) the Australian tectonic plate. This is called a subduction zone. It runs along the East Coast of the North Island, down to Kaikoura in the South Island. Research shows there is a one-in-four chance (25%) of a major Hikurangi Subduction Zone event in the next 50 years, with the potential of earthquake up to magnitude 9.1.

The Alpine Fault runs for around 800km the length of Te Waipoumanu in the South Island. It marks the western edge of the Southern Alps, and the straightest part of the fault (500km) runs from John O'Groats at the entrance to Milford Sound in the south, to near Lewis Pass in the North. The Alpine Fault is a transform plate boundary, meaning the two plates grind past each other, although there is some compression and uplift as well – enough to have created the Southern Alps.

An earthquake along the Hikurangi Subduction Zone is unlikely to trigger the Alpine Fault, and vice versa, as they are both on different tectonic plate boundaries.

Useful links and resources

If you want to find out more about the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, here are some useful links:

Share this page

Sharing...