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Yes, it is very un-nerving.

 

Quote:

THE latest violent earthquake to hit Christchurch has been upgraded to match the power of the devastating February shake that killed 181 people and destroyed the CBD.

 

New Zealand's GNS Science upgraded the severity of the earthquakes. A quake which hit at 2.20pm was actually 6.3-magnitude, not the 6.0 initially measured by New Zealand's GNS Science.

 

The quake that hit 80 minutes earlier has also been upgraded from 5.5 to 5.7-magnitude.

 

Hope our friends down there all doing ok.

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  • 6 months later...

Large earthquakes hit Christchurch

December 23, 2011 - 5:22PM

NZ hit by a series of large earthquakes

Several earthquakes including a magnitude 6 and two greater than magnitude 5 - have hit Christchurch, toppling already damaged buildings, injuring residents and disrupting power, phone services and retailers.

 

Christchurch has been rocked by a series of large earthquakes, two days before Christmas, that have left 60 people injured and shaken the city that was only beginning to recover from a major quake earlier this year.

An initial 5.8-magnitude quake sent the airport building swaying from side to side and shoppers scurried from a supermarket as products fell from shelves. It was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a magnitude 6 and two more magnitude 5 or above.

The CBD red zone, devastated by February’s quake which killed 182, had shut down, and while the ChristChurch Cathedral suffered more damage, other central city buildings had held up well, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton said.Police warned people to stay away from suburbs in the hills, as slips and rocks crashed down following the quakes.

Thousands of residents were left without power, Christchurch airport was temporarily closed and streets turned to liquid but there have been no reports of serious injuries or widespread damage at this stage.

A St John spokesman said paramedics had received up to 150 emergency calls and treated 60 people for minor injuries, stuff.co.nz reports.

Photo posted on Twitter of reported liquefaction following Christchurch earthquake.

Firefighters were called to help rescue residents at a nursing home, reportedly trapped on the second floor of the building and the Coastguard rescued four people trapped by rockfall.

According to GeoNet, which monitors geological hazards in New Zealand, the initial 5.8 quake hit 20 kilometres north-east of Lyttelton just before 2pm New Zealand time, nearly midday Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

Less than 10 minutes later, a 5.3 quake hit 20 kilometres east of Christchurch and soon after a magnitude 4.2 struck. Just over an hour later a magnitude 6 rocked the city. A magnitude 5 was then felt an hour after that and was shortly followed by a magnitude 4.

Christchurch Airport was initially closed and passengers evacuated but was reopened about 3.45pm (AEDT time) with flights expected to resume about 6pm.

Airport chief executive Jim Boult said there had been no damage to the runways but warned there would be significant delays and some flight cancellations.

Deputy Mayor Ngaire Button was adamant the quakes would not set back the city’s recovery.

"Our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch tonight. We’re just devastated that this has happened at this time of the year, right before Christmas," she said.

"We believe that this event will pass quickly and that we’ll all be able to enjoy Christmas on Sunday."

Prime Minister John Key said he felt for the city.

"My heart goes out to the people of Christchurch and Canterbury at this time."

A seismologist warned that Christchurch could expect to be rattled by more aftershocks.

GNS natural hazards research manager Kelvin Berryman said today's cluster of quakes meant the area would be in for a period of sustained seismic activity.

Here is how the news unfolded:

2.45pm 26,000 customers are without power in Christchurch's eastern suburbs, electricity distributor Orion reports.

2.37pm GeoNet reports most recent quake at 3.18pm (New Zealand time) was magnitude 6.

2.25pm A partly demolished building and vacant house have collapse, police say.

2.20pm The United States Geological Service says the initial 5.8 quake was followed by a magnitude 5.3 then a 5.8 quake at 2.06pm and 3.18pm (local time) respectively, stuff.co.nz reports

2.18pm Three earthquakes registering above 5 magnitude have now rocked Christchurch. Already damaged buildings have toppled, residents have been injured and power remains disrupted.

2.02pm More pictures here

1.55pm Christchurch airport will remain closed until at least 5pm (local time) and 3pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time), according to a Qantas tweet. QF45 and QF46 have been cancelled.

1.54pm Monique Devereux, from the Earthquake Recovery Centre in Christchurch, told radio 3AW that the building she was in twisted and shook as the quake struck.

''The noise came just like a hurricane like it always does but it’s been a long time since we’ve had a big shake, so I just leapt up and held on to one of the steal beams,'' she said.

''Our building twisted and rocked like nothing I’ve felt before. I haven’t been up that high before in an earthquake. Once it stopped the building kept swaying for probably a good 10, 15 seconds.''

1.41pm ‘‘Unfortunately we have got use to this," mayor Bob Parker told TVNZ. "We’ll get over the initial shock ... It’s going to be a hell of a day, my heart just breaks really. So many people have been through so much.’’ He said the quake would set back the city’s rebuild after earlier quakes and power, water and sewage systems would need to be checked.

1.39pm The National Crisis Management Centre in Wellington is being activated and Civil Defence advised people to expect aftershocks. Police will fly over the areas hit by the quake to assess damage from the air.

1.36pm Assessments of the airport’s buildings and runways were being carried out following the quake.

1.33pm Four people had to be rescued after they were trapped by rockfall in Boulder Bay, police say. There was no sign of any serious damage to the city but the WINZ building in New Brighton had suffered some damage, police spokesman Steven Hill said. All the staff had to be evacuated. One person, who was at the Eastgate Mall in Linwood, had been injured and was taken to hospital, Hill said.

1.30pm Power is expected to be restored to most areas within an hour.

1.28pm Another big aftershock has hit Christchurch, about 90 minutes after the first big quake today. Stuff.co.nz reports the second quake felt stronger than the first.

1.25pm Seismologist Ken Gledhill has told TVNZ the quake was a little bit further from the city than most of the previous aftershocks, but it seemed to follow the same pattern.‘‘It’s likely there will be a series of aftershocks which will gradually drop off.’’

1.14pm The political Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority head Roger Sutton was at home ready for the holidays when the quake hit. Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker was at Lake Taupo getting ready to celebrate Christmas with his family when the quake hit. He said he was desperately trying to get back home and was expected to land in Christchurch after 7.30pm. ‘‘It’s going to be one hell of a day,’’ he said. The airport is expected to reopen about 4pm.

1.13pm There was no sign of any damage to the city, police spokesman Steven Hill said. One person, who was at the Eastgate Mall in Linwood, had been injured and was taken to hospital, Hill said. All the malls have been closed and the police patrols are searching the streets for damage.

1.10pm People shopping and working at the Westfield mall were almost in tears as they spoke of another Christmas marred by earthquakes. Mall worker Noelene Barron, said that while the quake was frightening, the worst thing was knowing that there were likely to be ongoing aftershocks now.

1.08pm Power company Orion said power outage was due to shaking rather than long-term equipment damage.

12.59pm Local woman Juliet McVeigh told AAP the quake was loud and was the first quake to actually wake her toddler Otto.‘‘He woke screaming, which he has never done. ‘‘It was violent, some are long and slow. This one was violent and then three or four aftershocks.’’

12.57pm People in the area are being urged not to use mobile phones to place calls but to text to check on friends and relatives - phone lines that are still up and running are increasingly jammed, NZ Telecom says.

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