Complex multifault rupture during the 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake, New Zealand

The 2016 moment magnitude ( M w) 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake was one of the largest ever to hit New Zealand. Hamling et al. show with a new slip model that it was an incredibly complex event. Unlike most earthquakes, multiple faults ruptured to generate the ground shaking. A remarkable 12 faults ruptured overall, with the rupture jumping between faults located up to 15 km away from each other. The earthquake should motivate rethinking of certain seismic hazard models, which do not presently allow for this unusual complex rupture pattern. Science , this issue p. [eaam7194][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aam7194