Investigating Cascading Hazards

Every action has a reaction and the flow on effects can be bigger or more complex than the original action.

For example, earthquakes are not only ground shaking and surface rupture, they can also cause a whole series of other cascading hazards which can have immediate, short term and long term or prolonged impacts. This means that when the shaking stops, we need to be aware of the other cascading hazards it may have generated and be prepared for them too.

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We know earthquakes can cause landslides, liquefication, fires, flooding, seiching and tsunami, because we've seen this happen before in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Can you think of an example of a hazard that has happened here?

Scroll down for examples of when an earthquake has caused one of these hazards to occur ↓

These hazards can have ongoing impacts on our landscape and lives for days, weeks or even years, after just one single event. This makes the big picture far more complex.

Click through to understand how landslides could impact the South Island following a large Alpine Fault earthquake ← ••• →

Each of these hazards can be triggered by a single earthquake. There are a whole range of reasons these natural hazards may occur after the main earthquake and we can prepare for the impacts of these hazards as well by making plans before they happen.

Imagine, a large earthquake has occurred. You are at the park near a river with a friend. You both drop, cover and hold. A few tree branches break around you and you start to see some muddy stuff come to the surface. You start walking back home and notice the footpath is cracked and some cars have sunk into the ground. When you get home, no one is there. You phone isn't working to check in on your family and the power is off.

It sounds a bit scary, but one simple thing you can do to ease your mind is talk to your friends and family and make a plan.

Make a plan together so that you are all prepared. It is as simple as thinking about the things you need everyday and working out what you would do if you didn't have them.

When you're away from home, think about how you’ll communicate with each other and, if you can't, where you will meet. Also think about what you’d do if the power was out.

Now that you've investigated cascading hazards, test your knowledge in our quiz and find out if you are a plate boundary expert!