Christchurch NZ rocked by 6.3 quake

21 Feb 2011 18:22 #1 by Mayhem
30 minutes ago

Major quake hits Christchurch

Updated 6 minutes ago
A car lies under rubble after part of a building collapsed during the earthquake.

A car lies under rubble after part of a building collapsed during the earthquake. (twitpic.com/42dsk3: Laura Campbell)

* Video: Major quake causes widespread damage in Christchurch (ABC News)
* Related Story: Aftershocks rattle Christchurch recovery efforts
* Related Story: Christchurch damage bill to run into billions
* Related Story: Quake-hit Christchurch tightens building code
* Related Story: Rattled Christchurch inspects aftershock damage
* Related Link: Photo gallery: Christchurch quake (Sept 4, 2010)

A powerful earthquake has struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch bringing down buildings and buckling roads, with reports deaths and serious injuries.

The US Geological Survey says the quake was 6.3 in magnitude and struck five kilometres from the city at a shallow depth of just four kilometres.

It says the quake hit shortly before 12:50pm (local time), just five kilometres to the north-west of the city.

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Eyewitnesses described the scene as "horrendous".

"There has been a lot of damage, our TVs have been smashed and there are big cracks in the house. Neighbours have lost brick fences," said Nicholas


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011 ... 145320.htm

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21 Feb 2011 18:25 #2 by Mayhem

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22 Feb 2011 06:54 #3 by Mayhem
Predictable response. Guess Maoris aren't black enough to warrant a response from the purveyors of compassion, therefore the white victims of this equate to just another dead animal on the side of the road. Maybe if they announce they found a burka in the rubble that might glean a response from certain corners.


New Zealand Earthquake 2011: Tremblor Kills At Least 65, Traps More



CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — One of New Zealand's biggest cities lay in ruins Tuesday after a powerful earthquake toppled tall buildings and churches on a busy weekday, killing at least 65 people in the country's worst natural disaster in decades.

The quake even shook a massive chunk of ice from New Zealand's biggest glacier, some 120 miles to the east of Christchurch, where most of the damage was reported.

More than 100 people, including as many as a dozen visiting Japanese students, were thought to be trapped in the rubble as darkness – and drizzling rain – fell Tuesday night. Rescue crews with sniffer dogs fanned out across the city in search of survivors, some of whom were able to send text messages or make phone calls from under the wreckage.

It was the second major quake to hit Christchurch, a city of 350,000, in five months, though Tuesday's 6.3-magnitude temblor caused far more destruction than a stronger September quake that struck before dawn on a weekend.

"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Prime Minister John Key said after rushing to the city within hours of the quake. He said the death toll was 65, and may rise. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day."

The spire of the city's well-known stone cathedral toppled into a central square, while multistory buildings collapsed in on themselves and streets were strewn with bricks and shattered concrete.

Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, while thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens and car alarms blared. Ambulance services were quickly overwhelmed, and some victims clutching bleedings wounds were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.

Nathanael Boehm, a web designer, said he was standing near a tram track when the quake struck just before 1 p.m., sending the eaves of buildings cascading onto the street below.

"It was horrific. People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," Boehm said, adding that he believed some of them had been crushed to death.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/2 ... 26402.html

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22 Feb 2011 07:06 #4 by Mayhem

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22 Feb 2011 07:13 #5 by FredHayek
Devastating, usually a 6.3 quake doesn't cause such severe damage. Luckily it came in the middle of the day so people could react faster.

Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.

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