Highway to the Danger Zone

Posted 12:15pm Sunday 8th October 2023 by Fox Meyer

Thrill seekers are everywhere in Franz, to the point where bartenders used to “free-pour shots into open mouths like Cancun”, according to some guy I met in a spa pool. And to take care of those tourists, many students work in Franz over summers where they’ll invariably end up at Read more...

It’s Our Fault

Posted 1:20pm Saturday 24th September 2022 by Fox Meyer

It’s fun writing about the Alpine Fault now because at some point in our lifetime it’s going to be all anyone is talking about. It feels like writing about the Christchurch earthquakes before they actually happened, or writing about how easy it would be to block the Suez Canal before the Read more...

Main Building of Wellington Campus Evacuated

Posted 9:52pm Sunday 22nd August 2021 by Fox Meyer

Users of the main building on Otago’s Wellington campus were told on Thursday 12 August that they would need to relocate for at least a month. The building was found to be compliant with just 15% of the earthquake safety requirements of New Zealand’s New Building Standard. Staff and Read more...

Earthquake Monitoring System Deployed

Posted 1:10am Monday 9th August 2021 by Fox Meyer

The Otago Earthquake Science Group, and Property Services, have installed four new “shake-sensors” on campus. Canterbury Seismic Instruments will monitor the accelerograph stations and help emergency services respond to a seismic event. You can see one of these new stations in the Read more...

Earthquake Monitoring System Deployed

Posted 1:10am Monday 9th August 2021 by Fox Meyer

The Otago Earthquake Science Group, and Property Services, have installed four new “shake-sensors” on campus. Canterbury Seismic Instruments will monitor the accelerograph stations and help emergency services respond to a seismic event. You can see one of these new stations in the Read more...

Shaky At Best: The New Zealand Earthquake Forecasting Page With Links to Pseudoscience

Posted 10:09pm Sunday 18th April 2021 by Acasta Gneiss

At first glance, NZ Earthquake Community is a reputable Facebook page. It’s filled with content from GeoNet and advice about earthquake safety. It’s also only six clicks away from a crackpot’s RV in New Mexico.  Information on the page comes from two sources. If you follow Read more...

Student Meant to be Near Epicentre of Quake

Posted 11:06pm Saturday 13th March 2021 by Fox Meyer

Four Otago students were meant to be on a boat offshore of the Kermadec Islands on the morning of March 5. This would have placed them near the epicentre of the M7.4 and M8.1 quakes that triggered Tsunami warnings in the North Island.   In a weird twist of fate, a last-minute Covid Read more...

Earthquake devastates Ecuador

Posted 10:44am Sunday 24th April 2016 by Henry Napier

At least 7,015 people have been injured following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Ecuador.  The Andean country has recorded up to 570 deaths and over 2,500 injured in the latest estimates from Ecuador’s Risk Management Office.  The earthquake struck on the coast of Ecuador, Read more...

13 Killed in Chile Earthquake

Posted 11:44am Sunday 27th September 2015 by Bridie Boyd

Thirteen people were killed in Chile after an 8.3 earthquake struck the nation on 16 September. A tsunami followed shortly afterward. The earthquake occurred offshore from Illapel, Chile, just before 8pm. The earthquake’s epicentre was 143 kilometres north-north-west of the city of Read more...

Dunedin "100% Likely" to Suffer Catastrophic Earthquake by 2012

Posted 6:37pm Sunday 11th March 2012 by Callum Fredric

The University is spending $50m to upgrade its buildings over the next seven years, in order to reduce the buildings’ vulnerability to earthquakes. A top-secret forum, off-limits to students and the media, was held last Tuesday March 6 in the College of Education Auditorium, in order to Read more...