The towns of Nelson, Greymouth and Westport were all affected and roads, buildings and bridges were severely damaged throughout an area estimated at 26,000 km2 (10,000 mi2).

[1] The worst damage was caused by landslides triggered by the shaking, which destroyed several homes and resulted in 14 of the 17 deaths.

This and the risk of aftershocks and flooding from landslides blocking rivers caused many residents to evacuate the area, mostly on foot.

Karamea was completely cut off and received no outside help for two weeks, until a de Havilland Tiger Moth plane landed on the beach.

[2] Analysing the seismic waves from this earthquake appearing in the shadow zone, Inge Lehmann demonstrated that there must be a solid inner core that reflected p-waves.