Earthquakes Increase Flood Hazard in Christchurch, New Zealand
The sinking city: Earthquakes increase flood hazard in Christchurch, New Zealand Matthew W. Hughes, Dept. of Civil & Natural Resources Engineering, (e.g., sea-level rise, storm surges, tsunamis) and terrestrial hazards University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Ilam, Christchurch, New (e.g., surface subsidence and compaction, flooding, erosion, sedi- Zealand; Mark C. Quigley, Dept. of Geological Sciences, University of ment supply changes, groundwater table changes) induced by Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Ilam, Christchurch, New Zealand; natural and/or anthropogenic processes (Syvitski et al., 2009; Sjoerd van Ballegooy, Bruce L. Deam, Tonkin & Taylor Ltd, PO Box Nicholls and Cazenave, 2010). Coastal population growth and 5271, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141, New Zealand; Brendon A. concentration, economic development, and urbanization are Bradley, Dept. of Civil & Natural Resources Engineering, University of expected to greatly increase exposure and loss to the impacts of rela- Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Ilam, Christchurch, New Zealand; tive sea-level rise (Nicholls and Cazenave, 2010; IPCC, 2014) and Deirdre E. Hart, Dept. of Geography, University of Canterbury, Private coastal flooding (Hanson et al., 2011; Hallegatte et al., 2013) through Bag 4800, Ilam, Christchurch, New Zealand; and Richard Measures, the next century, defining one of society’s greatest challenges. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), PO Box Geospatial data, such as satellite-based synthetic aperture radar and 8602, Christchurch, New Zealand airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), are increasingly being used to measure surface subsidence and delineate areas prone ABSTRACT to flood and sea-level rise hazards (Dixon et al., 2006; Wang et al., 2012; Webster et al., 2006), thereby assisting land-use planning Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data were and management decisions (Brock and Purkis, 2009).
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