Newly discovered earthquake faults near Wairarapa towns

A new study has revealed seismic faults in the Wairarapa Valley, four of which are close to some of the region’s towns.

By Sue Teodoro of Local Democracy Reports

Wairarapa Office of Emergency Management controller Simon Taylor said the findings were not surprising and could help people better understand the risks.

The Wairarapa is no stranger to earthquakes, with the largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand since 1840 being the rupture of the Wairarapa Fault in 1855, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale.

The earthquake findings, published in a paper in the journal Earth Sciences New Zealand, were shared with Local Democracy Reporting under the Official Information Act.

The newly discovered Ruamahanga, Woodside, Carters Line, and Pāpāwai faults were close to population centers.

Map of the Wairarapa showing the approximate currently known boundaries of the Papawai-Woodside Faults, Carter Line and Ruamahanga Faults. (Source: provided)

Earthquake geologist Genevieve Coffey, one of the authors of the research, said that the longest fault was the Papaway fault.

“It extends about 26 kilometers from Morrison’s Bush, south of Greytown, towards the north-east and beyond Papawai Marae. It crosses the Rwamahanga River and has been mapped to end at the base of Fosters Hill,” she said.

“The Carter Line is 18 km long, and lies about 1.5 km south-east of Carterton. It is mapped from just north of the Wyohene River, heading north-east, and ends west of the Rwamahanga River near the Cornwall Road.

“The Woodside Fault branches off from the Masterton Fault just south of the Wyohane River. It is shorter, at 6km long, and is set to extend to Woodside about 1.5km from the center of Greytown.

“Finally, the Ruamahanga Fault is the northernmost of these faults. It is approximately 7 km long and runs across east of Masterton and to the north, ending just after the Ruamahanga River.”

The Woodside Fault ruptures every 770 years

Woodside was the most active of the faults studied, with a slip rate of 1.1 mm per year, she said.

“On average, the Woodside Fault erupts in a major earthquake approximately every 770 years.”

Covey stressed that the slip rate and repetition periods were estimates at this stage, and should be tested through field work.

Faults often consist of multiple fault lines called traces, she said.

“Although we have known for some time that earthquakes can occur in the Wairarapa with faults such as the Wairarapa, Masterton and Carterton faults already mapped, these newly mapped and more widespread traces tell us that there is a larger area of ​​the Wairarapa where earthquakes may occur and cause strong earthquakes.”

She said the findings suggest the 1855 earthquake could have caused more faulting across the region than previously thought.

“The area is also likely covered by trees, so some rips may have gone unnoticed.”

The Papaway Fault could trigger the largest earthquake

Coffey and her colleagues plan to do field work along the Masterton and Papaway fault soon, studying past earthquakes.

She said it was possible that the Papaway Fault could produce a larger earthquake than those mapped.

“We chose the Papaway Fault because it was one of the newly mapped faults presented in the paper that we know very little about. It is also the longest of the newly mapped faults, which means it may produce the largest earthquakes (perhaps around magnitude 7) of the faults mapped.”

The Masterton fault can provide more information

A collapsed water tower in Masterton after the June 1942 earthquake. (Source: Provided)

“On the other hand, we have known about the Masterton fault for some time, but previous studies have not revealed much about its seismic history. Since it passes through Masterton, it is important to revisit it and we believe we have a site where we can learn a lot,” Coffey continued.

One finding of the study was that faults across the Wairarapa are likely to rupture together in multi-fault earthquakes, such as the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

“It’s also important to remember that earthquakes lead to other hazards such as landslides, liquefaction and tsunamis (when offshore), and there are some good lessons from the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake,” Coffey said.

“Earthquake fault ruptures may also affect rivers such as the Ruamahanga and we hope to do some work to look at this with Mana Whenua.”

The three Wairarapa councils established a joint permanent emergency unit last year, the Wairarapa Emergency Management Office (EMO).

Mapping has already shown significant disadvantages in the area, often close to population centers, Taylor said.

“In fact, this helps us better understand the type and level of risks in our surrounding environment.”

He said if a major earthquake occurred, the Wairarapa Emergency Operations Center would be activated and could result in the city’s mayor or mayors declaring a local emergency.

“The Wellington Regional Emergency Management Office (WREMO) will likely be involved, and if the event is larger than the Wairarapa, a national response may be launched.”

He recommended people check out the WREMO website which has information on how to be better prepared.

The authors of the New Zealand Earth Sciences paper, Newly discovered active faults in the Wairarapa Valley: Implications for multi-fault rupture and kinematics in the southern North Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, are: Genevieve Coffey, Nicola Litchfield, Regine Morgenstern, Rob Langridge, and Dougal Townsend.

– LDR is local body journalism jointly funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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