Saturday, September 4, 2010

Powerful 7.1 quake hit Christchurch, New Zealand

Oh dear! Another disaster - a powerful 7.1 quake hit Christchurch, New Zealand, this morning causing much damage to infrastructure but fortunately, no loss of life though two people have been badly injured. One man was hit by a falling chimney and was in serious condition in intensive care, while a second was badly cut by glass. A state of emergency has been declared.


There were cases of looting but police is dealing with it. It's been reported that there is quite significant damage and that some people were trapped in damaged houses. 13 mostly freight trains had been halted on South Island lines, with some damage already confirmed to rail lines north of Christchurch.

Christchurch International Airport was closed after the quake as a precaution, as experts checked runways and terminal buildings, according to a spokesman.

The quake, which hit 19 miles (30 kilometers) west of Christchurch according to the state geological agency GNS Science, shook a wide area, with some residents saying buildings had collapsed and power was severed. No tsunami alert was issued.

I have vivid memories of my visit to New Zealand and I remember Christchurch as a very beautiful city with their black swans on the river and the awesome cathedral which is so tall I remember I had a tough time capturing the whole structure on camera. I hope and pray that all will be well again in the shortest time.

While Indonesia is on the Pacific Plate Ring of Fire, New Zealand is smack on the Indo-Australian Plate. Below is an image borrowed from Wikipedia for a better understanding.



Sources:
- The Star
- Wikipedia

6 comments:

  1. Goodness...I never thought this could happen in the Land of The Lord of the rings. :( 7.1 is very strong!

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  2. Anonymous4:13 PM

    A colleague mentioned this to me..a couple of hours ago.

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  3. 7.1 is strong, T. Any place that sits atop a fault-line is in a precarious position.

    Mei Teng, I only knew about this quake from The Star. Do you know anyone who lives in Christchurch?

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  4. i actually thought NZ is free from earthquakes, that's why it came as a shock to me when i saw the news on CNN.. anyway, glad that there's not death and serious injuries reported..

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  5. Just like SK< I didn't expect New Zealand to have earthquakes, at least not of this magnitude.

    Good thing NZ have very sturdy buildings, else it will be very catasrophical.

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  6. This is a shocking news of the present time. An earthquake of 7.1 intensity is quite terrible. Let us all pray for the quick recovery of the injured people.

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