The Australian and Pacific plates converge obliquely in the Tonga-Kermadec-Hikurangi subduction zone . The Hikurangi Plateau alters this subduction beneath North Island , at the Hikurangi subduction zone , where the buoyancy of the slab has resulted in the exposure of a forearc and hence earthquakes such as the 7.8 Mw 1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake
1931 Hawke 's Bay earthquake
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
Hikurangi Plateau