A Christchurch couple's red zoned house will be auctioned tonight with a $1 reserve, but buyers have so far shown little interest.

The lower North Island has been rocked by a second sizable earthquake today.

The world is turning to New Zealand's most threatening fault to better understand the levers that cause catastrophic earthquakes.

Department of Conservation staff on Raoul Island have escaped uninjured following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake off the coast of the island this morning.

The Earthquake Commission has been able to increase its reinsurance cover after securing better terms in its latest annual round of negotiations.

The Insurance Council says it could make the whole process drag out for longer and the only winners would be lawyers.

Labour has promised to set up a special Earthquake Court to deal with unresolved insurance claims from the Canterbury earthquakes.

The civil engineer behind Christchurch's CTV building is no longer under investigation - after an inquiry was dropped upon legal advice.

It's one of NZ's biggest natural disaster risk zones. Now scientists hope to know more about a rare quake phenomenon happening off the North Island's Poverty Bay.

A quake registering 4.0 on the Richter Scale has been felt in Christchurch.

A strong, deep earthquake near Fiji has caused New Zealand's earthquake sensors to register a swarm of earthquakes off the east coast of the North Island.

Another strong aftershock has rattled Solomon Islands early this morning, following yesterday's 7.6 quake that's compounded flood misery in the country.

Auckland is a long way from high earthquake activity and can expect a major shake every 10,000 to 20,000 years, says a new study.

New Zealander Rachel Lilburn has felt earthquakes in Chile before but said yesterday's big one was much stronger than any others.

Sensible residents of Los Angeles have already stocked up on batteries, water and medical supplies in anticipation of "The Big One".

A $10 billion national seismic building upgrade will save only seven lives during almost a century yet destroy much of the country's heritage, an economist says.

A severe earthquake centered near Waipukurau rocked the North Island today and was felt as far north as Hamilton and as far south as Marlborough.

Firefighters, police officers, Urban Search and Rescue experts, and courageous passersby risked life and limb to drag several survivors from the CTV Building.

A moderate earthquake that rattled a swathe of Southern California forced several dozen people in one community out of their homes.

Christchurch has been shaken by a shallow magnitude 4.0 earthquake this morning.

Derelict buildings are scary. I know this from experience.

Students at University of Canterbury have a new concept to test quake-resistance with a machine that will simulate over 100 earthquakes. The results will produce data that is able to help build quake-proof buildings.

Seismologists will be asking many questions about the magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck Los Angeles this week, a sharp jolt that reverberated across densely populated southern California.