3 big quakes rattle Christchurch, New Zealand

[dbt]

Source: AP via CBS

A series of strong earthquakes struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, rattling buildings, sending goods tumbling from shelves and prompting terrified holiday shoppers to flee into the streets. There was no tsunami alert issued and the city appeared to have been spared major damage.

One person was injured at a city mall and was taken to a hospital, and four people had to be rescued after being trapped by a rock fall, Christchurch police said in a statement. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or widespread damage in the city, which is still recovering from a devastating February earthquake that killed 182 people and destroyed much of the downtown area.

The first 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon, 16 miles north of Christchurch and 2.5 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Minutes later, a 5.3-magnitude aftershock hit. About an hour after that, the city was shaken by another 5.8-magnitude temblor, the U.S.G.S. said, though New Zealand's geological agency GNS Science recorded that aftershock as a magnitude-6.0. Both aftershocks were less than 3 miles deep. <snip>

Warwick Isaacs, demolitions manager for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, said most buildings had been evacuated "as an emergency measure." The area has recorded more than 7,000 earthquakes since a magnitude-7.0 quake rocked the city on Sept. 4, 2010. That quake did not cause any deaths.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57347540/3-big-quakes-rattle-christchurch-new-zealand/?tag=stack

[KoKo]

1. Wow....they've really been through it in NZ... And Christ Church is

a beautiful city. A relative visited it and said it was of the prettiest cities she been to and the people were so friendly. :-(

[bikebloke]

2. My favourite city in NZ is really taking a beating.

If I had been able to settle there, I'd probably be digging out of teh rubble if not buried in it.