Sentinel Blog

M7.1 earthquake, off the east coast of the North Island.  Friday, March 5 2021 at 02:27 am

A milestone reminder of the importance of having a plan

Natural disasters – like earthquakes, floods or pandemics – can have massive, sometimes disastrous, impacts on businesses. For example, when the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes struck Canterbury, we weren't as ready as we should have been, and the impact was devastating. It begs the question: if the use of data and technology had been more widespread at the time, would it have lessened that impact?

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We have partnered with the Wellington City Council to install more than 100 new sensors across the city.

New Zealand isn't called 'the shaky isles' for nothing. Earthquakes are a fact of life here; the past decade has seen significant seismic activity and the science tells us to expect more in the future. We can't prevent the quakes, but we can be prepared for them and with Sentinel, we have the technology to help us make smart, fast decisions after they’ve occurred.

When an earthquake strikes, the go-to resource for most New Zealanders is GeoNet. Following an event, people quickly jump onto the site to review the magnitude and the intensity of the quake or “reported shaking”.

At Sentinel, we know that measured ground shaking across a city or region is highly variable. Using “Magnitude plus distance” as a crude estimate of damage likelihood is unreliable, uncertain and potentially dangerous. An earthquake earlier this week provided a graphic demonstration.

At 7:53am on Monday, May 25, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Wellington - even rattling the Beehive as the Prime Minister was being interviewed live on air! The quake was widely felt throughout the North Island, with Wellington and Levin experiencing the strongest shaking.

The Covid-19 era is still with us, but we're out and about more now. As we become more mobile and return to our office spaces, we need digital solutions that can keep pace, especially when it comes to the safety of our buildings and the continuity of our businesses. The landscape for Kiwi business and building owners has changed significantly, and we’ve been reminded just how important it is to have the tools and technology in place to minimise business interruptions. Planning ahead is what enables businesses to remain operational future earthquakes.

When an earthquake strikes, the go-to resource for most New Zealanders is GeoNet. Following an event, people quickly jump onto the site to review the magnitude and the intensity of the quake or “reported shaking”. But before accepting this information, it’s important to first understand how GeoNet sources these reports.