Hawke's Bay tops New Zealand's quake count

This graphic from Geonet shows the frequency and depth of earthquakes in Hawke's Bay for the past 30 days.

With a staggering 2016 earthquakes recorded in the last year, Hawke's Bay has been deemed New Zealand's shakiest region by far.

A total of 174 quakes rattled the Bay in the past month, the latest a 5.4-magnitude jolt which struck last week and was centred 35km northeast of Taihape, at a depth of 39km.

GNS scientist Caroline Little said Hawke's Bay had a similar number of earthquakes to Wellington, also deemed quake-prone, with Gisborne. Mrs Little said most of the quakes were less than magnitude-3 so many would not have been felt.

"It's what we expect," she said.

Mrs Little said there was "a general rule of thumb to follow", despite quakes being unpredictable: "For every magnitude-4 earthquake, we expect 10 magnitude-3 earthquakes, 100 magnitude-2 earthquakes and 1000 magnitude-1 earthquakes."

The devastating Christchurch quakes in 2011 prompted a nationwide review of building safety. MP Stuart Nash said he had "absolute confidence" Napier's buildings would survive a strong quake.

"I think our buildings will stand up just fine, to be honest."

Mr Nash said Napier buildings had been built strongly after the 1931 earthquake, although he did have concerns about shop verandas. Many verandas fell and killed people in the devastating Christchurch quake of 2011.

Mr Nash said they could also be an issue in Napier.

Although another massive earthquake might compromise the structural integrity of some buildings, Mr Nash said they would not fall down.

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said the Hastings infrastructure was "generally in good shape".

"Most of our services are good," Mr Yule said.

Hastings had a low to moderate risk of liquefaction, and bridges and roading could be an issue.

Mr Yule said the report reinforced the decision made to strengthen the Hawke's Bay Opera House.

"We've identified it as the biggest risk of failure," he said.

"Nine hundred people can sit in that house, we're just not prepared to gamble with people's's lives."

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence Controllers (HBCDC) listed earthquakes as the number one hazard in Hawke's Bay.

Emergency Management co-ordinator Lisa Pearse said the region had many fault lines and earthquakes because it was located on a zone of high deformation on the Australian Plate, about 150 km west of the Hikurangi Trough, which marked the boundary between the Pacific and Australia plates.

HBCDC said people should be prepared for larger shakes. Mrs Pearse said most people in Hawke's Bay would survive a large quake with some loss but some people would be severely affected.

"Actions you take now can help reduce damage to your home and business and help you survive, so check your house is secure, practice Drop, Cover and Hold with your family and make sure you have an household emergency plan."

A Hawke's Bay quake exercise will run next week for emergency operation centres to practise.

Mrs Pearse also said locals should be aware they lived in a highest tsunami risk zone in New Zealand.

Mrs Little said the West Coast of the South Island and Marlborough were the only places with higher levels of shaking than Hawke's Bay but, because they were both bigger areas than the Bay region, they were not directly comparative.

She also underlined that quakes were difficult to predict, "just because earthquakes are less likely in other parts of the country, doesn't mean it won't happen.

"Christchurch is the obvious reminder of that," she said.