Vulnerability of the Canterbury environment to earthquakes

The location of New Zealand within the Pacific Ring of Fire is a .......................................... characteristic that makes Canterbury vulnerable to earthquakes.

• natural

• cultural

Another reason why Canterbury is vulnerable to earthquakes is because:

• The North Island is close to a subduction zone (colliding plate boundary).

• The South Island straddles two tectonic plates which meet at a transform fault.

The Alpine Fault lies to the................ of Christchurch. This proximity to a major fault line is why Canterbury is susceptible to earthquakes along smaller faults.

• North

• South

• East

• West

The loose river deposit gravels of eastern Canterbury makes areas of the city of Christchurch very vulnerable to the effects of:

• Tsunamis

• Rockfalls

• Seiches

• Liquefaction

Which suburbs of Christchurch are prone to the process of liquefaction during earthquakes?

• New Brighton and Avonside

• Riccarton and Merivale

• Redcliffs and Lyttelton

The hard volcanic rock of the Port Hills was a natural factor that made which suburb vulnerable to rock falls?

• New Brighton

• Avonside

• Lyttelton

• Riccarton

What was Christchurch's population in 2010, making its people vulnerable to death and injury during the February 2011 earthquake?

• 380,000

• 550,000

• 485,000

A cultural characteristic that made Canterbury vulnerable to the effects of building damage in the February 2011 earthquake was

• the high number of heritage buildings in CHCH

• the large number of skyscrapers in the CHCH

• the large number of brand new buildings in CHCH

Christchurch has expanded outwards over time, meaning some suburbs were built on swampy land, which was prone to liquefaction during the earthquakes of 2010-2011. This is an example of a .......................................... characteristic.

• natural

• cultural

A cultural characteristic that led to poorer families being vulnerable to the effects of the Canterbury earthquakes was that ...................... income families lived in the suburb of Avonside.

• high

• medium

• low