The devastating earthquake that tore through Christchurch on Tuesday is the product of a new fault line in the Earth’s crust that seismologists were previously unaware of.
New Zealanders have long known that their mountainous country is acutely vulnerable to tectonic movements. Major fault lines dissect the nation, snaking up the western coast of the South Island before splitting in two just south of the capital Wellington.
For those charged with the unenviable task of trying to predict where the next major quake would strike it was always Wellington that created the most concern thanks to a prominent fault that is expected to produce a major earthquake in the next few decades and runs directly through the city centre....
