The
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the
Napier earthquake, occurred in
New Zealand at 10:47 am on 3 February, killing 256 and devastating the
Hawke's Bay region. It remains New Zealand's deadliest
natural disaster. Centred 15 km north of
Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and measured magnitude 7.8
Ms (magnitude 7.9
Mw). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks, with 597 being recorded by the end of February. The main shock could be felt in much of New Zealand, with reliable reports coming in from as far south as
Timaru, on the east coast of the
South Island.