EQRNet: New Zealand's densest urban seismic monitoring network

Abstract

An ultra-dense urban earthquake monitoring and effects management system is presented. We describe our learnings from the 2016 M 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake and how these motivated us to create a globally unique system of ultra-dense sensor networks, a centralised processing system and a wide range of visualisation tools, collectively called EQRNet. A small-scale trial in Christchurch in 2018 confirmed the necessity for ultra-dense sensor placement and the benefits of better data visualisation. Following the trial, a city-wide full-scale deployment of EQRNet was completed in Christchurch, and some preliminary results are presented. We discuss areas of improvement and summarise the state of the work.