New Zealand Funds Eight Natural-Hazard Research Programmes With NZ$3.6 Million

New Zealand's Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake has awarded NZ$3.6 million to eight university research programmes that will run for three years, starting in early 2027. University of Canterbury researchers will model fires triggered by earthquakes in Greater Wellington, while University of Auckland projects will examine apartment retrofits and coastal cliff collapse. Another Auckland project will work with Māori and Pacific communities in Auckland and Northland on flood-adaptation decisions. The remaining research covers housing recovery and vulnerability, Hawke's Bay floodplain development and earthquake-hazard modelling, with the commission saying the work aims to reduce future disruption and losses.