Earthquake Commission IQ

No - it also covers your home and contents for damage caused by volcanic eruptions, landslips, hydrothermal activity and tsunami. And it covers fire damage caused by any of these natural disasters. Further, in the case of residential land, it covers damage caused by storm or flood.

But, if you don't have home and/or contents insurance, then you're not covered by EQC. So, it's worth checking whether you're adequately insured.

For more information on EQC's natural disaster cover call our free-phone number 0800 326 243 or see our corporate website

The biggest landslide in New Zealand, and possibly the largest landslide of its type on Earth, was the Green Lake landslide in Fiordland, which occurred around 13,000 years ago.

Engineering Geologist Graham Hancox, of GNS Science, says that in the cataclysmic event, a 9 km long section of the Hunter Mountains, 27 cubic km of rock and debris, collapsed into a valley 700 metres below. The Green Lake landslide is one of many very large landslides in Fiordland probably triggered by Alpine Fault earthquakes.

Fortunately most natural disasters are not so catastrophic as the Green Lake landslide and there is much you can do to prepare for them. Get the good oil and click here to get advice on how to prepare your home.

The earliest report of animals reacting to an earthquake signal comes from Greece in 373 BC. Rats, weasels, snakes and centipedes are said to have left their homes and headed for safety. There has been much similar anecdotal evidence since then.

However, Warwick Smith of GNS Science says that scientific explanation eludes us. It remains at least a mystery if not a myth.

What is clear is that relying on the dog to warn of a quake isn't a good plan. Rover's whining would be too late to be useful anyway. Far better to click here to find out how to make your home quake safe.

Yes, it was. The lake lies in craters formed by the collapse of land following volcanic eruptions. These craters are called calderas.

University of Auckland volcanologist, Dr Jan Lindsay, says that the enormous Ōruanui eruption, about 26,500 years ago, formed the 30-kilometre wide depression at the northern end of Lake Taupō.

Fortunately most natural disasters are not so catastrophic as the Ōruanui eruption and there is much you can do to prepare for them. Get the good oil and click here to get advice on how to prepare your home.

Wrong - it doesn't. The Earthquake Commission only covers residential property if it is insured.

If you don't have home and/or contents insurance, then you're not covered by EQC should an earthquake damage your property. This is also the case for the other natural disasters EQC covers - natural landslip, tsunami, volcanic eruption and hydrothermal activity. So, it's worth checking whether you're adequately insured.

For more information on EQC's natural disaster cover call our free-phone number 0800 326 243 or see our website.

No, it doesn't.

Cover for war damage was dropped in 1994. Since then the Earthquake Commission's cover has been for natural disasters only.

EQC covers your home and contents for damage caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslips, hydrothermal activity and tsunami. Further, in the case of residential land, it covers damage caused by storm or flood.

But, if you don't have home and/or contents insurance, then you're not covered by EQC. So, it's worth checking whether you're adequately insured.

For more information on EQC's natural disaster cover call our free-phone number 0800 326 243 or visit our corporate website.

Not always. Sometimes there isn't enough time, especially if the tsunami is caused by an earthquake close to shore.

David Coetzee from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management says that if you are at the coast and see or feel any of the following: an earthquake that is strong (difficult to stand up in) or long (a minute or more) or any out of the ordinary sea behaviour, such as loud noises or sudden changes in sea level, move inland or to higher ground immediately.

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to prepare your home for a natural disaster.

Actually, there's a lot you can do to prepare for big earthquakes and the many not-so-big quakes that can damage property.

Securing foundations, chimneys and hot-water cylinders are just some of the things that can help prevent damage.

EQC's insurance manager, Lance Dixon, says that last year there were more than 140 earthquakes that caused damage to New Zealand homes and inconvenienced property owners.

Get the good oil and click here to get advice on how to help prevent damage from earthquakes and the other natural disasters covered by the Earthquake Commission.

John Hamilton, Director of Civil Defence says that in an earthquake the best advice is to drop, cover and hold under a table or desk, so as to protect against falling objects and debris.

A widely circulated email suggests incorrectly that, during an earthquake, people should shelter next to solid items to create a protective void, a 'triangle of life'.

Relying on information from unrecognised sources could put you, or your family in danger. Far better to go to getthru.govt.nz and click here to get some good advice on how to be safe in an earthquake and how to make your home quake safe.

The eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD was bigger, but both had catastrophic consequences, annihilating surrounding towns, villages and countryside.

GNS Science volcanologist, Gill Jolly, says the Vesuvius eruption ejected about 4 cubic kilometres of tephra (fragments of volcanic rock and lava, regardless of size, that are blasted into the air). In 1886, Tarawera ejected about 2 cubic kilometres of tephra.

Fortunately most natural disasters are not so catastrophic as these and there is much you can do to prepare for them. Get the good oil and click here to get advice on how to prepare your home.

Yes, they could have.

The eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD buried the city of Pompeii under 4 metres of ash and pumice. GNS Science volcanologist, Gill Jolly, says that the Taupo caldera eruption of 26,500 years ago covered much of the central North Island with up to 200m of ignimbrite (rock created when ash and pumice is erupted from a volcano like an enormous hot avalanche). Even the Taupo eruption of about 200 AD deposited 80m of ignimbrite in valleys around the volcano.

Fortunately most natural disasters are not so catastrophic as these and there is much you can do to prepare for them. Get the good oil and click here to get advice on how to prepare your home.

Unlikely.

Scientists now understand a great deal about the warning signs of a volcanic eruption.

Dr Ken Gledhill, director of GeoNet, says that volcanic earthquakes, ground deformation and gas emissions are all indicators of eruptions.

"In New Zealand these indicators are monitored by GeoNet (www.geonet.org.nz) to ensure early detection of volcanic unrest and to ensure a good understanding of the nature of any coming eruption."

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to prepare your home should disaster strike.

Yes, they can.

An earthquake in 1958 triggered a landslide containing 61 million cubic metres of rock, mud and ice which crashed into Lituya Bay, Alaska. The slide produced a wave that was 30 metres high.

There may be little or no warning of a local tsunami says Dr Hugh Cowan, EQC's Research Manager. If you are near the coast and feel an earthquake or see the sea receding, head for higher ground quickly.

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to prepare your home for a natural disaster.

Yes, it has.

The most destructive since human settlement appear to have been in the 15th Century. A series of tsunamis, possibly generated by several very large earthquakes, struck our shores. Few parts of the coast were left unscathed.

Archaeologist Dr Bruce McFadgen, author of Hostile Shores, reports that the tsunamis inundated coastal areas and settlements. "Not only would people have died, for those who survived there would have been the loss of food - garden crops, stored supplies and collectable items - to cope with, shelter to find, the injured to tend, and all to be undertaken most probably while in a state of shock."

There will be more in the future and on a scale difficult to contemplate. To get the facts on how to prepare for natural disasters like tsunamis, click here.

No, usually they don't.

Experience and research show that panic is rare. Dr David Johnston of the Massey University and GNS Science Joint Centre for Disaster Research, says that generally people react to natural disasters by doing the best they can for themselves and those with them. They might make mistakes from lack of knowledge or confusion, but this is not panic.

It is true to say though, that the more you do to prepare, the easier it will be to pick up the pieces. So click here to get advice on how to prepare your home should disaster strike.

The largest recorded earthquake in the world was the magnitude 9.5 Chile quake in May 1960. It generated a tsunami that struck as far away as Hawaii and Japan.

William Power from GNS Science says that the tsunami came ashore on the east coast of New Zealand. In Lyttelton a hotel and several houses were flooded, and 200 sheep drowned.

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to prepare your home should disaster strike.

Yes they are. New Zealand's geological hazard monitoring network, GeoNet, records more than15,000 earthquakes in the shaky isles each year.

Dr Hugh Cowan, EQC's research manager, says that of these about 100 to 150 are big enough to be noticed and could cause damage to homes and their contents. EQC received more than 4,500 claims following the recent magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Fiordland.

Fortunately there are many things you can do to help reduce damage and minimise the inconvenience from earthquakes. To get the good oil on how to quakesafe your home, go to eq-iq.co.nz.

In 1975 near Haicheng, China, 90,000 people were evacuated a few hours before an earthquake that destroyed 90 percent of the buildings. In spite of this success, there was no warning of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed about 250,000 people.

Dr Warwick Smith, a seismologist at GNS Science, says that to be useful, a prediction must specify place, time and magnitude, and scientists can't do that yet.

What is clear is that relying on someone else to warn of a quake isn't a good plan. Far better to click here and find out how to make your home quake safe, so you're prepared whenever an earthquake strikes.

Tsunami is the correct term. A tsunami is a broad wave in oceans and lakes generated by large movements of the sea-floor during earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides under or into the ocean, or even from meteorites. The term “tidal wave” comes from the way tsunamis look - like an extraordinarily high incoming tide or wall of water, says William Power from GNS Science.

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to prepare your home for a natural disaster.

No, the ground doesn't open up much during an earthquake. Movement along a fault line creates an earthquake as the two sides of the fault slide past one another.

However there can be shallow fissures caused by ground failure, says earthquake expert Dr John Townend, the EQC Fellow in Seismic Studies and a geophysicist at Victoria University of Wellington.

It's important to get the good oil when preparing for natural disasters. Click here to get advice on how to make your home quake safe.

There is no connection between weather and earthquakes. Earthquakes are the result of geological processes within the earth and can happen at any time. Large earthquakes can occur during any weather. Earthquakes start many kilometres underground, far from the wind, water, or temperature at the surface, says earthquake expert Dr Warwick Smith, a seismologist at GNS Science.

It is clear that relying on the weather to predict an earthquake is not a good plan. Far better to click here to get some good advice on how to make your home quake safe.