[1][2][3] It remained the single largest earthquake to strike Hawke's Bay until 1931, where a magnitude 7.8 quake levelled much of Napier and Hastings, and killed 256 people.

In the North Island the displacement is mainly taken up along the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, although the remaining dextral strike-slip component of the relative plate motion is accommodated by the North Island Fault System (NIFS), which runs from Wellington, up Hawke's Bay and through to Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.

[citation needed] Residents living in Hawke's Bay at the time reported numerous landslides, as well as vast soil liquefaction and the opening of large fissures in the ground.

According to The Hawke's Bay Herald, there was considerable damage to stock in stores and hotels, and although some chimney bricks fell through roofs, no major injuries were reported.

[4] Outside of Hawke's Bay, the earthquake woke many people in Wellington, causing minor structural damage but had a large toll on personal belongings.