NZ: Facing earthquake horrors again - BNZ

Stephen Toplis, Head of Research at BNZ, suggests that the New Zealand has simply had enough of earthquakes as the recovery from the tragic Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 is far from complete and now the nation (and in particular the South Island) has had to face into another devastating event with yesterday’s 7.5 ‘quake centred at Culverden.

Key Quotes

“Not only is the physical damage significant but the mental stress imposed on those trying to put the recent past behind them must be immense.”

“That said, this is not a Christchurch re-run. The quake was actually much bigger in magnitude than the Christchurch quakes but was centred in very low-population density areas. The epicentre, Culverden, has a population of around 500 people. The township most severely affected was Kaikoura (population around 2,000) and then there’s Hamner Springs (population under a 1000). Compare this with Christchurch’s 370,000.”

“Accordingly, the hit to real GDP will be substantially less than the Christchurch impact. Of course, so soon after an event it is hard to draw particularly accurate conclusions about anything but there are still a few things that we can be clear on. Unequivocally, there will be a modest short term hit to GDP.”