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A new geological fault capable of generating a 7.1-magnitude earthquake has been found in Wellington, confirming the New Zealand capital's status as one of the world's most seismically active cities.
Geologists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said the Aotea fault began on the floor of Wellington Harbour and was believed to extend through the central city and southern suburbs.
Institute marine geologist Philip Barnes said there was evidence that the most recent earthquake caused by the fault occurred about 6,200 years ago and it was impossible to know if another quake was due.
"We do believe that it has recurrence intervals of several thousand years," he said. "We have no idea when it might rupture in the future."
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said it was "fanciful" to suggest the country's capital should be moved because of the quake threat.
"It doesn't actually change anything - there are other big fault lines in Wellington," he said.
"This just shows we're getting better at finding out where they are."
GeoNet earthquake geologist Russ Van Dissen said the latest discovery was just one of "dozens" of active faults crisscrossing the Wellington terrain, the biggest capable of generating an 8.5-magnitude quake.
He said the city's existing building codes should deal with any quake from the new fault.
Asked how it compared internationally, he said: "You've got the North Anatolian fault going right through Istanbul, there's a number of other cities, Tokyo, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle that all have a significant active fault earthquake hazard."
In 2011, a 6.3-magnitude quake on a previously unknown fault in the South Island city of Christchurch killed 185 people - one of the nation's deadliest disasters in modern times.


Wellington quake threat revealed

An empty shipping container sits in the harbour where the land fell into the sea at the Port Wellington Container terminal caused by earthquake in July 2013. Photo: AFP

A crack in a road is pictured after an earthquake on the outskirts of the town of Seddon in the Marlborough region, on New Zealand's South Island August 16, 2013. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck south of New Zealand's capital on Friday, sending panicked Wellington workers and residents into the streets, but caused little major damage just weeks after a similar size quake shook the harbourside city. REUTERS/Anthony Phelps  (NEW ZEALAND - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT TRANSPORT)

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A new geological fault capable of generating a 7.1-magnitude earthquake has been found in Wellington, confirming the New Zealand capital's status as one of the world's most seismically active cities.
