Kaikoura quake moved house 8m

  • 28/11/2016
The house was moved sideways off its foundations (Youtube/GNS Science)
The house was moved sideways off its foundations (Youtube/GNS Science)

A house perched directly on top of the faultline that ruptured during the Kaikoura earthquake moved more than eight metres during the shaking.

The farmhouse was ripped off its foundations by a sideways movement during the magnitude 7.8 quake, which hit on November 14.

The house sits on the Kekerengu Fault and suffered irreparable damage.

"The fault has ruptured up and completely demolished this house that was directly on top of the fault. It's been moved over eight metres and also lifted up at the same time," says geospatial  scientist Will Ries.

The Kekerengu is one of several faults that ruptured in the earthquake. In total the Kekerengu's rupture is roughly 30km long.

The fault also extends along the property's fenceline, which Mr Ries says is another good way to measure movement.

"We can use things like fences to measure the displacement of a fault, and that's really useful information for us to figure out what has happened."

Newshub.