Some notable New Zealand disasters.
'Natural' disasters
Cyclones & floods
- Kopuawhara floods - Mahia Peninsula, 1938
- Cyclone Giselle - New Zealand-wide, 1968
- Southland floods - 1984
- Cyclone Bola - East Coast, North Island, 1988
Earthquakes, landslides & volcanoes
- Wellington earthquake - 1855
- Mount Tarawera eruption - Central North Island - 1886
- Murchison earthquake - West Coast - 1929
- Hawke's Bay earthquake - 1931
- Inangahua earthquake - West Coast - 1968
- Abbotsford landslide - Dunedin - 1979
- Edgecumbe earthquake - Bay of Plenty - 1987
- Christchurch and Canterbury earthquakes:
Transport accidents
Aircraft
- Lockheed Electra ZK-AGK Kaka — Mount Ruapehu, 1948
- Lockheed Lodestar ZK-AFX Kereru — Waikanae, North Island, 1949
- Russley Golf Course — Christchurch, 1957
- DC-3 Skyliner ZK-AYZ Hastings — Kaimai Ranges near Tauranga, 1963
- Mt Erebus — Antarctica, 1979
- New Brighton hot air balloon - Christchurch, 1995
Bus & railway
- Ongarue Railway Accident - near Taumarunui, 1923
- Hyde Railway Accident - Central Otago, 1943
- Tangiwai Railway Accident - Waiouru, 1953
- The Brynderwyns Bus accident - 1963
Shipwrecks
- HMS Orpheus — Manukau Heads, Auckland, 1863
- SS Tararua — Waipapa Point, Southland, 1881
- SS Wairarapa — Great Barrier Island, Hauraki Gulf, 1894
- SS Elingamite — 3 Kings Island, 1902
- SS Penguin — Cape Terawhiti, Wellington, 1909
- Wahine — Wellington Harbour, 1968
- Rainbow Warrior — Auckland Harbour, 1985
- Mikhail Lermontov — Marlborough Sounds, 1986
- Rena — Tauranga, 2011
Epidemics
- Influenza Epidemic, October - December, 1918
Buildings and structures
- Seacliff Mental Hospital - Dunedin - 1942
- Ballantyne’s Fire - Christchurch - 1947
- Cave Creek - West Coast South Island - 1995
Mining
- Kaitangata Mine - Otago 1879
- Brunner Mine explosion - West Coast, 1896
- Ralph's Mine - Huntly, Waikato 1914
- Strongman Mine - Greymouth, West Coast, 1967
- Pike River Mine - Greymouth, West Coast, 2010
List by Date
- 1855 — Wellington Earthquake
- 1863 — HMS Orpheus — Manukau Harbour
- 1879 — Kaitangata Mine — Balclutha
- 1881 — SS Tararua — Southland coast
- 1886 — Mt Tarawera eruption — Central North Island
- 1894 — SS Wairarapa — Great Barrier Island
- 1896 — Brunner Mine — West Coast
- 1902 — SS Elingamite — 3 Kings Island
- 1909 — SS Penguin — Cape Terawhiti, Wellington
- 1914 — Ralph's coal mine — Huntly, Waikato
- 1918 — Influenza epidemic — New Zealand wide
- 1923 — Ongarue Railway accident
- 1929 — Murchison Earthquake
- 1931 — Hawke's Bay Earthquake — Hawke's Bay
- 1938 — Kopuawhara Floods — Mahia Peninsula
- 1942 — Seacliff Mental Hospital Fire, Dunedin
- 1943 — Hyde Railway Accident — Central Otago
- 1947 — Ballantyne’s Fire — Christchurch
- 1948 — Lockheed Electra ZK-AGK Kaka
- 1949 — Lockheed Lodestar ZK-AKX "Kereru"
- 1953 — Tangiwai Railway accident
- 1963 — Brynderwyns bus accident
- 1963 — DC-3 Skyliner ZK-AYZ Hastings — Kaimai Ranges
- 1967 — Strongman mine, West Coast
- 1968 — Wahine — Wellington Harbour
- 1968 — Cyclone Giselle — New Zealand-wide
- 1968 — Inangahua Earthquake, West Coast
- 1979 — Mt Erebus Plane crash — Antarctica
- 1979 — Landslide — Abbotsford, Dunedin
- 1984 — Southland Floods — Invercargill, Southland
- 1985 — Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior — Auckland Harbour
- 1986 — Mikhail Lermontov shipwreck — Marlborough Sounds
- 1987 — Edgecumbe Earthquake, Bay of Plenty
- 1988 — Cyclone Bola — East Coast, North Island
- 1995 — Cave Creek — West Coast
- 2010 — Greendale Earthquake — Greendale, Central Canterbury
- 2010 — Pike River Mine explosion — Greymouth, West Coast
- 2011 — Christchurch Earthquake — Christchurch
- 2011 — Rena shipwreck — Tauranga
