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Post-Earthquake Seismic Reflection Survey, Christchurch, New Zealand

On September 4,2010, an earthquake struck the Christchurch region in New Zealand. The Mw 7.1 quake was centred about 40 km west of the city of Christchurch and caused significant damage bu not loss of life. A key manifestation of the earthquake was a fault (Greendale Fault) that ruptured to the ground surface with a maximum dextral displacement of 5.1m and a vertical displacement of 1.5m, upthrown to the south. On February 22,2011, a Mw 6.2 aftershock struck with a shallow hypocenter very close to Christchurch. This earthquake resulted in the loss of 182 lives and devastating damage ($23B) to the city infrastructure. Since September, 2010, the region has experienced over 10,500 aftershocks, with 42 of these being greater than 5M. d