http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5119611/Experts-warn-earthquakes-tsunami...Long-dormant earthquake faultline has awoken and could trigger a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake - devastating New Zealand in MINUTES
New Zealand could be struck by devastating 9.0 earthquakes, geologists warn
It comes as the long-dormant Hikurangi subduction zone has begun to move
Tsunamis caused by the quakes could leave residents just seven minutes to flee
Scientists claim the 2011 Japan earthquake is a similar example of destruction
It follows a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that struck capital Wellington on Monday
By Kirby Spencer For Daily Mail Australia
PUBLISHED: 12:07 AEDT, 27 November 2017 | UPDATED: 12:30 AEDT, 27 November 2017
New Zealand could be hit by devastating earthquakes and tsunamis after the awakening of a long-dormant fault, scientists warn.
Geologists claim the dangerous Hikurangi subduction zone has begun to move following the devastating Kaikōura earthquake in 2016, which claimed the lives of two people.
They state the trench - running offshore from the top of the South Island to Gisborne in the north - can produce deadly 9.0 earthquakes and tsunamis powerful enough to reach residents in just seven minutes.
New Zealand could be hit by devastating earthquakes and tsunamis after a long-dormant fault awoke following the devastating Kaikōura earthquake in 2016 (pictured)
Geologists claim the dangerous Hikurangi subduction zone - running offshore from the top of the South Island to Gisborne in the north - has begun to move
'We need to think Japan 2011 basically, because if our whole plate boundary ruptured it would be a magnitude-9 earthquake,' GNS scientist Ursula Cochran told Fairfax.
The intense earthquakes are caused when the tectonic plates along the boundary are forced over the top of one another, creating 'megathrust'.
Previous earthquakes along such zones include the catastrophic 9.1 event in Sumatra, resulting in the Boxing Day tsunami that claimed the lives of around 250,000 people.
While the similarly-sized 9.0 quake in Tōhoku, Japan, back in 2011 is another example which resulted in a tsunami that left the Fukushima nuclear power plant in meltdown and nearly 16,000 people dead.
'One thing about reflecting on the Kaikōura earthquake is we don't want people to think this is the big one,' Ms Cochran said.
She said that the impact zone from a quake along the fault could include the entire east coast of the North Island, as well as parts of the South.
'We need to think Japan 2011 basically, because if our whole plate boundary ruptured it would be a magnitude-9 earthquake,' GNS scientist Ursula Cochran said. Pictured is a tsunami in Miyako, Japan following their earthquake