Colin Shultz, writing for Smithsonian:
In just the past few years, a series of devastating ones have hit near Christchurc h, the country’s second-largest city, leveling large parts and killing hundreds of people. But for the past five months an earthquake of a different kind, centered near Wellington , New Zealand’s capital city, has been slowly rocking the country.
It’s a magnitude 7 earthquake, and it’s been going on all year.
Residents of Wellington haven’t felt the earthquake, though, despite its magnitude. That’s because all its energy has been spread out over the last five months (and counting). These types of quakes are known as a “slow slip earthquakes,” and they were first discovered in 2001.
Watch “Deadliest Earthquakes” to discover more about how quakes happen.