Canterbury earthquake
The largest earthquake in New Zealand was an M8.2 event in the Wairarapa, in 1855, and the most deaths (261) occurred in a M7.8 earthquake in Hawkes Bay in 1931. Widespread property damage was caused by the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, which measured 7.1; The M6.3 aftershock of 22 February 2011 (2011 Canterbury earthquake) resulted in 185 fatalities. Most recently, the M7.8 Kaikoura earthquake struck just after midnight on November 14, 2016, killing two people in the remote Kaikoura area northeast of Christchurch. Numerous aftershocks of M5.0 or greater are spread over a large area between Wellington and Culverden.