A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch at around 4.30am this morning.
The quake was felt extensively throughout New Zealand with reports of people being woken from there sleep in Wellington. Two people have been seriously injured from falling debris and many more have many treated for minor injuries.
The last major earthquake to strike a built up area in New Zealand was in 1987 in the Bay of Plenty.
That earthquake cost insurers $330m and this will be many times this amount. There are many pictures of the damage to buildings that is reminiscent of the Napier earthquake of 1931.
The airport is currently closed and power and other services have either been switched off while damage is assessed or have been damaged and are not operational. Damage has been caused to the runway and flights are not operating while this is being assesed.
Related posts:
- Earthquake: Sizeable jolt hits New Zealand’s South Island
- Indonesian earthquake triggers memories of 5 years ago
- New Tsunami Watch after Vanuatu 8.0 earthquake
- Another earthquake in the Pacific – Solomons 7.1 magnitude
- Second earthquake stikes South of Mariana Islands
We’ve been watching the news for most of the day. Devastating images. Luckily no loss of lives, but two people are seriously injured.
Donate if you can; you can donate through the NZ Red Cross, http://www.redcross.org.nz or make an automatic $20 donation by calling 0900 33 200