Buildings inspected, more leaks expected following Wellington earthquake

More than 38,000 people reported on GeoNet they felt the strong earthquake that struck Wellington at 5am yesterday.

• Wellington buildings have been assessed for damage after a strong earthquake early yesterday.
• The 5.7 magnitude quake struck at 5.08am on Sunday, 25km west of Wellington in Cook Strait.
• Wellington Water expects more leaks and burst pipes following the quake.

Buildings in Wellington have been assessed for damage and Wellington Water is warning residents to expect an increase in leaks and burst pipes after a strong earthquake yesterday.

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said 17 of its buildings equipped with earthquake sensors have been inspected, all passing “basic visual assessments with flying colours”.

Those assessed include earthquake-prone buildings like the Michael Fowler Centre, Opera House, and City Gallery, as well as Tākina, the St James Theatre and the Carter Observatory.

Ceiling damage was reported in TSB Arena but a structural engineer gave the building the all-clear, allowing the World of Wearable Art competition to continue. A council spokesperson said the situation regarding the building was “under control.”

The capital was shaken with a magnitude 3.8 aftershock this afternoon.

GeoNet reported light shaking in Cook Strait at 2.23pm today and confirmed it was an aftershock from yesterday’s magnitude 5.7 earthquake.

Yesterday’s quake was bad news for the city’s underground water infrastructure, which is already compromised by previous earthquakes and ageing.

Wellington Water is bracing for more leaks and burst mains after yesterday's earthquake. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington Water told the Herald yesterday’s earthquake caused two drinking water pipes to burst. One in Ferry Place, Porirua, burst immediately after the quake and was fixed last night, and another on Kelburn’s Fairlie Terrace is an “ongoing incident”.

A spokesperson said they expect “an increase in leaks and bursts, particularly in vulnerable drinking water pipes, over the coming weeks”.

It blames an “ageing network and infrastructure and historical post-earthquake events”.

“Our earthquake sensors and alarms on critical structures worked as expected and we have commenced inspections of critical infrastructure such as major pump stations and reservoirs and will continue with this throughout the week. No issues have been identified to date”, the spokesperson said.

ANZ’s Tory St building, which houses NZME’s Wellington office, was closed today, with staff told to work from home while it was assessed.

The building was this afternoon given the green light and staff are cleared to return tomorrow.

Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau, the professional body representing the industry, confirmed Wellington engineers have been involved in assessing several buildings after the quake.

Dr Richard Templer, the association’s chief executive, said that because Geonet classified the earthquake as “strong”, widespread building damage was not expected and local and central government resources were not mobilised to inspect buildings.

“If the earthquake had been ‘severe’ then the risk of building damage would have been significantly higher, and Engineering NZ would have worked with local government and MBIE [the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] to engage our qualified members in the assessment process. As such we do not know the number of buildings inspected”, he said.

Wellington’s Victoria Lane Apartments were evacuated last night after one resident felt shaking.

It was today confirmed to be a false alarm, triggered by one resident who called emergency services about a “physical disturbance” in their apartment.

A Wellington apartment block was evacuated after residents said they felt shaking in the building.

The all-clear was given around midnight, with residents allowed back in two hours after being cleared out.

David McGuinness – managing director of Willis Bond, the building’s developer – said the inspection found no issues and no other residents raised concerns.

He said the building performed exactly as expected from a base-isolated building “with gold standard seismic resilience”.

McGuinness said a thorough inspection by the team concluded there was no evidence of structural or any other damage

Fire and Emergency central shift manager Murray Dunbar said Fenz received reports late last night that “could indicate structural damage” at the Victoria Lane Apartments in the central city.

The Insurance Council (ICNZ) is advising Wellington residents to check their properties and make a claim if any damage is discovered.

“Commercial property owners should contact their brokers. Taking photos of the damage to your property will help with your claims assessment and if you need to move damaged or contaminated goods from your house for health and safety reasons”, an ICNZ spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said it’s too early to say how many claims have been made relating to damage from the earthquake.

The quake, which hit at 5.08am yesterday, was 25km west of Wellington in Cook Strait.

It was the strongest recorded in New Zealand since a magnitude 5.7 on September 20, 2023, near Geraldine in Canterbury.

It was also the latest in a recent series of quakes in Cook Strait, which included a 4.8 shake on August 5 and a 5.0 event last Tuesday, just northeast of Seddon.

More than 37,000 people reported feeling it, according to the GeoNet website. It was detected as far north as Auckland and as far south as Christchurch.

GNS Science seismologist Elizabeth Abbott said the recent activity has been “well within the realms of normal”.

“We live in a really shaky place and the fact that we’re seeing these events is totally what can be expected.”

She said while we can’t predict earthquakes, Wellingtonians do live on an “active plate boundary” and the recent wobbles act as a timely reminder to be prepared.