NZSEE Webinar: Ten Years On: Lessons from the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake

Ten Years On: Lessons from the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake

Just after midnight on 14 November 2016, the M7.8 Kaikōura Earthquake struck the upper South Island. It was one of the most complex earthquakes ever recorded, with more than 20 faults rupturing in sequence. It caused widespread landsliding, coastal uplift and severe damage to State Highway 1 and the Main North Line, cutting Kaikōura off by land. Its effects reached far beyond the epicentre: strong long-period shaking in Wellington exposed weaknesses in modern multi-storey buildings and port infrastructure.

Ten years on, this webinar brings together leading practitioners and researchers to look back at what the earthquake revealed and how New Zealand has responded. Presenters will cover:

• the ground motions and why the earthquake was so complex
• the lessons for infrastructure resilience, including landslide impacts on transport networks and how they recovered
• emergency management, community resilience and the wider effects on society

Each presentation will look at how these lessons have shaped design, assessment, guidance and recovery planning over the past decade, and what remains unresolved

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Presenters:

Brabha Brabhaharan is Immediate Past President of NZSEE and a National Technical Leader and Technical Director at WSP. He specialises in earthquake and geotechnical engineering and the resilience of the built environment. After the 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake he advised on response and recovery and led a five-year research programme on landslides and their impact on infrastructure resilience. He has taken part in NZSEE reconnaissance missions to Japan and China and has contributed to seismic design guidelines and standards. Brabha is a Chartered Professional Engineer and a Fellow of Engineering New Zealand and NZSEE.

Professor Brendon Bradley is Professor of Earthquake Engineering at the University of Canterbury. His work covers engineering seismology, strong ground motion prediction, seismic response analysis, and performance and loss estimation. He co-developed QuakeCoRE: The NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience, and was its Director from 2019 to 2024. He is Editor of Earthquake Spectra and an author of Seismic Hazard and Risk Analysis (Cambridge University Press). His awards include the ASCE Norman Medal, the NZ Prime Minister’s Emerging Scientist Prize and the 2025 Royal Society Te Apārangi RJ Scott Medal. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Engineering New Zealand and NZSEE.

Paul Campbell is a Past President of SESOC, National Technical Leader – Building Structures at WSP and Director BRiDGE. He was President of SESOC when the 2016 Kaikōura struck and worked closely with the late Peter Smith (NZSEE President) and Charlie Price (NZGS Chair) representing the technical societies in the response to the earthquake. Since the Canterbury & Kaikōura earthquakes Paul has specialised in building resilience, Building Emergency Management (BEM) and Rapid Building Assessments (RBA). Paul was awarded the MacLean Citation for exceptional and distinguished service to the engineering profession for his work in the wake of the Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer, Fellow of Engineering New Zealand, and life member of SESOC.

Professor Thomas (Tom) Wilson is Chief Science Advisor for New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Professor of Disaster Risk and Resilience at the University of Canterbury. As NEMA’s Chief Science Advisor, he provides scientific and technical leadership to support evidence-informed decision-making across the national emergency management system and serves as an ex-officio member of NEMA’s Executive Leadership Team. During emergency responses, Tom supports the Director-General and National Controller, coordinates scientific input across the science system, and convenes and chairs science advisory groups as required. He works closely with the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor to ensure effective use of science in emergency management. Tom has also contributed to catastrophic event risk assessment and readiness, progressed formalising the role of science within New Zealand’s emergency management system, and supported development of the country’s science advisory capability for space weather risks.

Liam Wotherspoonis a Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Auckland. Liam completed both his BE and PhD at the University of Auckland. He is involved in engineering research across a range of natural hazards. He holds leadership roles in multiple research programmes in New Zealand that focus on natural hazards resilience. Liam was awarded the 2015 EQC/NZSEE Ivan Skinner Award and is an NZSEE Fellow. He was a member of the NZSEE Management Committee from 2012-2018.