The first major earthquake to strike Christchurch since May 2012, it triggered cliff collapses and renewed concerns about ongoing seismic activity in the region.
Key Facts
- Initial magnitude
- 5.9 (revised to 5.7) Richter scale
- Depth
- 15 km
- Epicentre
- Off New Brighton, Christchurch
- Local time
- 1:13 p.m. (00:13 UTC)
- Previous major quake
- May 2012
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake was part of the extended aftershock and seismic sequence that began with the 4 September 2010 Canterbury earthquake. The region had remained seismically active in the years following that initial major event, with stress redistribution along local fault systems contributing to continued tremors.
On 14 February 2016, an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 (initially recorded as 5.9) struck Christchurch at 1:13 p.m. local time. The event, widely called the Valentine's Day earthquake, was centred in the sea off New Brighton at a depth of 15 kilometres, making it the most significant earthquake in the area since May 2012.
The earthquake caused cliff collapses at Scarborough, Richmond Hill, and Sumner, including at Godley Head, Whitewash Head, and Peacock's Gallop. Shipping containers that had been placed along Peacock's Gallop following earlier earthquakes helped protect passing cyclists from falling rocks. Two surfers near Whitewash Head narrowly avoided car-sized boulders crashing into the sea around them.