The Auckland Volcanic Field will "almost certainly" erupt again, and a swarm of earthquakes will be the first signal of a catastrophe, say scientists.

The New Zealand Defence Force and Ministry of Defence must now find a new headquarters for hundreds of staff.

A moderate quake rocks parts of the North Island.

Thousands have reported feeling the two big quakes in Canterbury.

Travel is safer now, so fewer of us are dying in large-scale disasters, but climate change could reverse the trend.

The last of the Reading Cinema car park building was brought down on Tuesday.

The 4.8 quake struck 20km southwest of Cheviot at 10.19am.

A new book explores the drama, the scientific puzzle and the human spirit of the people who live there.

The magnitude 4.7 quake is described as having a "strong" intensity, and hit 15km south-west of Te Araroa at 6.34am.

Breeding colony of 2000 seals north of Kaikoura at risk as part of SH1 rebuild.

COMMENT: Yesterday our nation paused just before one o'clock to remember.

Justice Minister Amy Adams' passionate plea to Bruce Springsteen went unanswered - the closest she got to him was on the big screen.

Watch live: For the sixth anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake the new Canterbury Earthquake Memorial wall is being unveiled today.

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It may be wondered whether a country of NZ's size and population is well served by such a fragmented civil defence organisation.

COMMENT: The November 14 Kaikoura earthquake and its widespread damage is a reminder that nature imposes a running cost on all our infrastructure.

A group who lost their only children in the Christchurch quake feel failed by two Govts.

Nearly 800 people reported feeling the 4.8-magnitude aftershock that has struck near Culverden in North Canterburty this afternoon.

Some Wellington building owners have asked for more time to test their buildings after last year's quake.

Christchurch and Japanese academics are developing new drone technologies that would be able to locate people buried in wreckage following natural disasters.

By Anneke SmithLOOKING BACK: Jim Moran and Raymon Barrett, the oldest and youngest survivors of the 1931 quake, cut the cake alongside

Scientists have ruled out any suggestion this morning's 5.2 quake was linked to the mass whale stranding at Farewell Spit.

Kiwi scientists could soon have a new way to safely get an up-close look at erupting volcanoes: send in the drone.

The report into the effectiveness of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority is unbalanced and misses the point, Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

An engineer's report raised safety concerns around some floors of the office block, months on from the Kaikoura earthquake.

The young son of murder victim Alexsis Tovizi is among scores of traumatised children in desperate need of counselling after last November's earthquake.

The quake was just 5km deep and 120km west of Te Anau.

COMMENT: Many people seem to freeze like a possum in the headlights at the idea of reading their insurance policy.

The earthquake struck in the Bay of Plenty this evening, 15km south-west of Te Kaha. GeoNet reported the shake as "moderate'' in intensity.

There was nothing unusual about the late-night 5.1 quake that shook Marlborough and the lower North Island on Wednesday, says a scientist.