Earthquakes, heavy snowfalls and extremes of rainfall in unusually large numbers made the past winter a much more hazardous one than usual.
New Zealand experienced more earthquakes of magnitude five and above than usual, while extreme weather events and coastal hazards were also unusually numerous, the Natural Hazards Centre said.
"We experienced
the whole gamut of natural hazards this winter," said Dr Warren Gray, of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).
The August earthquakes in Fiordland shook up the earthquake statistics. There were two earthquakes of magnitude six or greater (including a 7.1 quake on August 22) in Fiordland compared with none last year, and 18 aftershocks between magnitudes five and six in that region contributed to twice as many quakes in that range as in 2002.
Rainfall extremes ranged from the 196mm which fell on June 29 and 30 on Motu, 47km southeast of Opotiki - nearly two months worth of rain in two days - to the extreme low of 9mm which fell in Nelson in the whole of July.
Heavy snowfalls down to 300-500m in the central and eastern North Island in July were highly unusual, as were the waves up to 10m high off the coast of Mokohinau in Northland in August.
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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