High stakes: disaster risk in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand faces significant risks associated with natural hazards (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2011) and is one of the most vulnerable countries to such risks for its size (Insurance Council of New Zealand, 2014). The 2010–11 Canterbury earthquake sequence resulted in 185 deaths, a $40 billion rebuild cost, equal to about 15% of GDP, and now over five years of continuing disruption and trauma for thousands of people (Potter et al., 2015). A recent Wellington City Council report put the cost of a large earthquake in that city at $12 billion for building and infrastructure damage alone, plus an annual GDP loss of $10 billion.