Hawke's Bay Earthquake

The Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, struck north-eastern New Zealand at 10:47 a.m. on 3 February 1931. Measuring at magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale and lasting over two minutes, the quake was among the most devastating natural disasters in New Zealand history and remained the deadliest into the twenty-first century. Most structures in the cities of Napier and Hastings collapsed, and 256 people lost their lives in the initial tremor and the fires and aftershocks that followed.

In the response to the disaster, women and children could evacuate to makeshift refugee camps, while authorities mandated that able-bodied men assist with recovery and rescue efforts. The earthquake ultimately led to stronger building codes, refined search and rescue codes, and greater awareness of the threat of earthquakes in New Zealand. The disaster also left a lasting mark on Napier in the form of the art-deco style buildings constructed in the rebuilding effort.

Background

The eastern side of New Zealand's North Island, including the Hawke's Bay region, sits in a highly unstable zone of fault lines and has a history of seismic activity. The islands of New Zealand are situated in the collision zone between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates and experiences thousands of tremors per year, of which about 150 to 200 are significant enough to be felt. Accounts of earthquakes date back to the first Māori settlers, but most seismic events were not substantially documented until European settlement in the nineteenth century.

It did not take long for European colonists to realise that the region's instability required a new approach to building construction. For instance, the capital of Wellington, located in the highest-risk zone, saw nearly all its masonry-built buildings destroyed in the earthquake of 1848. This resulted in a preference for wood over brick as the primary building material. The change resulted in relatively sparse destruction to property in subsequent major seismic events, such as the earthquake of 1855. Between 1815 and 1930 there were about three dozen substantial earthquakes in New Zealand, with most centred on the North Island. Prior to 1931, at least five major tremors occurred specifically in and around Hawke's Bay, though none powerful enough to dramatically alter life in the region.

Devastating Quake

At 10:47 a.m. on 3 February 1931, the ground in the Hawke's Bay region suddenly rose sharply—in some places by over two metres—and swayed, then after a momentary pause, shook violently and fell. This initial earthquake, caused by motion along a deeply buried fault, lasted for two and a half minutes. The two main shocks caused many buildings in the area to collapse immediately. Hundreds of people going about their daily routines in the cities of Napier and Hastings and surrounding area were suddenly killed or trapped in falling debris, and thousands more injured.

Those who managed to escape from the disintegrating buildings into the streets faced the dangers of falling brick and mortar and rifts in the ground. Many accounts noted that heavy ornamental features of buildings were among the first pieces of buildings to break loose. The worst destruction was in the central business districts (CBDs) of Napier and Hastings, where larger buildings caved in. Some of the deadliest scenes were at bigger structures crowded with people, such as department stores and nurses' homes. Schools were also hard hit, with students present for the first day back from holiday.

Immediately afterward, the earthquake fires erupted in the Napier business district. With the reservoir emptied and the water infrastructure destroyed because of the quake, firefighters were ineffective in battling the blaze. By that afternoon central Napier was afire. The fire killed many people still trapped in the rubble or attempting to rescue others. In Hastings, by contrast, the water supply was less damaged in the quake and fires that sprang up were less destructive.

Rescue and Recovery

Moments after the initial shocks, rescue efforts began, but the process was slow and difficult. The Royal Navy ship HMS Veronica was docked in the Napier harbour and able to coordinate rescue efforts, deploying sailors to aide beleaguered local workers and calling in additional help, but ongoing aftershocks and the fast-spreading fire created additional challenges. Several rescuers were themselves killed as damaged buildings continued to collapse and winds drove the blaze. There was at least one account of an injured and hopelessly trapped person being euthanised with morphine to spare them from the approaching fires.

As the region's hospitals were destroyed, medical treatment was redirected to temporary outdoor camps, and many patients had to be transported to other towns and cities. All told, 256 people lost their lives in the disaster, over half of them in Napier. Thousands more were injured. As most of the region's buildings had been destroyed, the Hawke's Bay area became a settlement of refugee camps, with people living in tents and other temporary structures as Napier was completely evacuated. Many damaged buildings were demolished as safety hazards. Then, ten days later, Hawke's Bay was struck by an aftershock measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale. Much of what had survived the initial shock then also collapsed, and hundreds more people were injured. Hundreds of smaller aftershocks continued throughout the following weeks and months.

Lasting Impact

The earthquake had a significant, lasting impact on the Hawke's Bay region and on New Zealand. The loss of life was memorialised, including with a monument in Napier's Park Island Cemetery. However, other outcomes have been seen positively. In terms of environment, the earthquake lifted about forty kilometres of seabed, effectively draining the Ahuriri Lagoon and surrounding tidal flats. The resulting land was farmed, and eventually part was developed into the Napier airport. In terms of policy, the earthquake led to a review of building codes across New Zealand. All new buildings were required to be greatly reinforced, and in the Hawke's Bay region structures were restricted in size.

Napier had to be rebuilt almost entirely. The city's leadership took the opportunity to make various planning improvements, such as wider streets and buried telephone and power lines. An esplanade was created along the altered shoreline with rubble from destroyed buildings. Many new buildings, especially in the CBD, were constructed in the Art Deco style that was popular in the 1930s. By the twenty-first century, this unique architectural legacy contributed to Napier's popularity as a tourist destination.

Bibliography

"1931 Earthquake." Napier City Council, 2017, www.napier.govt.nz/services/civil-defence-emergency/previous-incidents/napier-earthquake-1931. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

"Hawke's Bay Earthquake." Christchurch City Libraries, 1 Nov. 2017, my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/hawkes-bay-earthquake. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

"Hawke's Bay Earthquake Strikes." New Zealand History, New Zealand Ministry for Culture & Heritage, 4 Aug. 2017, nzhistory.govt.nz/hawkes-bay-earthquake-0. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

Hendery, Simon. "Flashback: Hawke's Bay's 1931 Earthquake Claimed 256 Lives." Stuff, 28 Jan. 2017, www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/88786541/Flashback-Hawkes-Bays-1931-earthquake-marked-death-and-rebirth-for-Napier. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

Hull, Alan G. "Tectonics of the 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake." New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, vol. 33, no. 2, 1990, pp. 309–20.

McGregor, Robert. The Hawke's Bay Earthquake. 3rd edition, Art Deco Trust, 2007.

McSaveney, Eileen. "The 1931 Hawke's Bay Earthquake." Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1 Nov. 2016, teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-6. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.

McSaveney, Eileen. "Historic Earthquakes - Rebuilding Napier." Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1 Nov. 2017, teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-8. Accessed 6 Nov. 2017.