A magnitude 4.7 quake shook a spot 110 kilometres north of White Island around 11.25pm, GeoNet said, at a depth of 25km.

Hundreds gathered in Christchurch's Botanic Gardens yesterday for a public memorial service to mark the fourth anniversary of the Canterbury earthquakes.

The four years since the Christchurch earthquake is more than enough time for a discussion about New Zealand's system of disaster insurance.

New Zealand profit for the country's biggest general insurer, Insurance Australia Group, rose from A$92 million to A$193 million ($200.1 million).

New Zealand profit from the country's biggest general insurer, Insurance Australia Group, rose from $92 million to $193 million.

Global insurance giant Lloyd's has paid out $4.2 billion for the Canterbury earthquakes, expects to pay a further $1.6 billion and remains committed to New Zealand.

New Zealand's dual insurance system has been deemed inefficient by a leading insurance company, following the Canterbury earthquakes.

Four years on, private insurers say they have settled 57 per cent of residential insurance claims over the Earthquake Commission’s $100,000 “cap”.

The North Island’s east coast has been rocked by another earthquake this evening.

Gisborne Police and the Fire Service had not received any call outs for damage related to the earthquake.

In a major breakthrough, Kiwi scientists have helped reveal the clearest picture yet of what happens deep under the Earth, transforming understanding of tectonic plates.

The government review of the Earthquake Commission's funding and policy structures is leaving global reinsurers uncertain as they try to assess the risk profile posed by natural disasters in New....

Vo Van Duong's bamboo and coconut leaf house looks much like others deep in Vietnam's Mekong Delta.

Scientists hope a proposal to drill the seabed off New Zealand's east coast will unlock the secrets behind earthquakes, such as one which wreaked havoc in Japan six years ago.

Both the North and South Islands have had a shaky start to the day, with a moderate quake in Southland and two light ones near Masterton.

Aftershocks are continuing to hit the West Coast and Canterbury after a major quake rocked the central South Island yesterday.

A major quake that rocked the central South Island today has resulted in a handful of residential claims to the Earthquake Commission.

GNS Science has revised down the magnitude of this morning's earthquake in the central South Island.

Christchurch was struck by a magnitude 4.0 quake last night.

Canterbury officials are confident the country's newest test venue will scrub up impressively when New Zealand meet Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval beginning on Friday.

"I had never seen in my life so much destruction and death on such a massive scale. I remember going to a place called Lambaro, just outside Banda Aceh...

Mike Bush was in Bangkok when the Boxing Day earthquake struck and even though he was 1250km from the epicentre, he felt it.

A strong earthquake rumbled the Canterbury region in the early hours today.

From potential taxes on sugary drinks to the ancestry of our kiwi, science has offered plenty of headlines this year.

Costs associated with the Christchurch rebuild account for the bulk of $214 million of unauthorised public spending in the past year, according to a new review.

A small earthquake shook the lower North Island this morning.