Aotearoa Environment

Whāinga ako: Lesson Goals

We are learning what events have impacted our communities and how they have responded

Mahi - work

Natural Disasters (Aituā Māori) and Aotearoa New Zealand

We are in prime position for different types of disasters here in Aotearoa. We have a lot of natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, landslides, snow, storms, tsunami, volcanic activity, and other hazards can happen any time and often without warning. We sit on two tectonic plates which are battling for supremacy. In Te Ika Te Maui (North Island) the Pacific Plate is getting pushed down and the Australia Plate is getting forced up. However in Te Wai Paunamu (South Island), it is the opposite- the Pacific plate is getting pushed up and the Australia plate is getting forced down. This gives us our mountains down the middle of our island.

Being a sub-tropic and temperate country, this generally keeps us out of the way of tropical cyclones. However with the climate warming we may have conditions that are more favourable to creating these storms.

What do the words in bold mean?

What kind of disasters would this make us vulnerable to?

New Zealand

Natural phenomena in Aotearoa

Have a look at the map of Aotearoa. Brainstorm extreme natural events in your area. Ask students if they know of other regions where the same extreme natural events happen.

Locate on the map where in NZ the following events are most likely to happen as you read each:

snowstorms
avalanches
cyclones
earthquakes
volcanoes
strong winds

Answers:

snowstorms- Nowhere near coastlines. They tend to hit the South Island harder than the north, particularly the alps and central Otago
avalanches- Fiordland is the only region in New Zealand where Class 5 avalanches occur regularly
cyclones- North Island as it has warmer water temperatures
earthquakes- Anywhere in NZ. Wellington is deemed to be the most active areas and Auckland one of the least.
volcanoes- North Island (Whakaari, Ruapehu, Auckland has 53 volcanoes around the region!)
strong winds- Nor'westers in Canterbury are notorious for being strong, at its extreme it can destroy crops and produce perfect dry conditions for wild fires.