Latest from Natural Disasters

Christchurch disaster tourism slammed

Disaster tourism in Christchurch's worst-hit eastern suburbs has been slammed by residents as totally insensitive and exploitative, new research shows.

Engineer re-iterates evacuation concerns

An engineer who assessed the Ohope landslide that killed a 17-year-old has re-iterated calls for the local council to adopt evacuation procedures.

Ohope landslip death inquest

A family member of a teenager killed in a Bay of Plenty landslip following torrential rain believes his death could have been prevented if authorities had ordered evacuations.

The devil they know

Alan Perrott talks to people with the inside track on what’s out to get us and finds out how that knowledge affects their daily lives.

Tornado: Science behind the destruction

Packing winds of up to 320km, the killer tornado that laid waste to Oklahoma on Monday grasped at the deadliest end of the Enhanced Fujita scale.

Photo: Texas twisters

Several tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa were part of a massive, northeastward-moving storm system that stretched from Texas to Minnesota, leaving at least six people dead, dozens injured and hundreds homeless.

Re-enacting quake could help kids deal with trauma - study

Govt doubles funding for new major science projects

Victory for Chch couple

Insurance giant Tower must pay out a Christchurch couple for a like-for-like replacement on another site, after their home was damaged in the earthquakes.

Govt to build new houses for displaced Christchurch families

Tongariro Crossing options discussed

Shaky Isles are also moving isles

New Zealand is moving by 4cm a year, new satellite surveys have revealed, as tectonic forces deform the land surface by stretching, slimming and sliding it southward.

Are we ready for the big one?

As they did on the afternoon of March 17, tens of thousands of Aucklanders take to Facebook and Twitter to express their amazement that their seemingly quake-free city has had a rumble.

Underground monitoring scientists' best predictor

Clamour for survival kits after earthquake

Panicked Aucklanders have been snapping up emergency kits in the wake of last Sunday's earthquakes.

Two shakes, maybe more to come

Aucklanders have been reassured that a big earthquake is highly unlikely, although a geologist says the rare pair that struck yesterday might be a sign of more to come.