Kaikoura Earthquake Caused ‘Largest and Most Widespread Episode of Slow Slip’ Seen in NZ

A slow slip event is a similar to an earthquake, but instead of taking seconds it takes weeks and months.

In a GeoNet blogpost, GNS Science explained their research, with Dr Laura Wallace saying slow slip events caused by the Kaikoura earthquake was “probably the clearest example worldwide of long distance, large-scale slow slip triggering”.

“The magnitude 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake was one of the most complex earthquakes ever recorded with modern instruments,” they wrote.