5

... the number of metres the South Island of New Zealand moved closer to the North Island after the devastating Kaikoura earthquake, which struck the tip of the South Island in November 2016.

It was reported at the time that the 7.8-magnitude earthquake had initially brought the islands 5m closer together.

Two years on, post-quake monitoring shows that the land is still reshaping due to unsettled fault lines, and that Cook Strait, the body of water between the two islands, continues to narrow, though much less dramatically. Scientists say it’s been about 35cm since the initial shift.