Powerful 7.5 quake strikes New Zealand

[GoFlyKiteNow]

4 Sept 2010

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck much of New Zealand’s South Island early Saturday. No tsunami alert was issued and there were no reports of serious injuries, but looters broke into some damaged shops in Christchurch, police said.

The quake, which hit 30 km west of the southern city 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.

Christchurch police reported road damage in parts of the city of 400,000 people, with a series of sharp aftershocks rocking the area. Police officers cordoned off some streets where rubble was strewn about.

“There is considerable damage in the central city and we’ve also had reports of looting, just shop windows broken and easy picking of displays,” Police inspector Mike Coleman told New Zealand’s National Radio. “It’s very unsafe to be out and about.”

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the “sharp, vicious earthquake has caused significant damage in parts of the city ... with walls collapsed that have fallen into the streets.”

 

[Leongsam]

I hope kiwibird7 has not been affected.

 

[tanwahtiu]

You think they easy to give away PR, POMies are inviting you to die here in earth quake zone. More Sinkies come and die under the rumble of concrete building.

 

[chobolan]

New Zealand : 7.0 earthquake reduces buildings to rubble in Christchurch


New Zealand : 7.0 earthquake reduces buildings to rubble in Christchurch

Buildings were reduced to rubble, essential services cut, and there were outbreaks of looting after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck New Zealand’s second largest city.

By Paul Chapman in Wellington
Published: 10:18PM BST 03 Sep 2010

<!-- COMMENTS DISABLED IN SECTION PROPERTIES -->

A car passes through fallen rubble after the quake struck in Christchurch Photo: AP

People stand outside a building damaged by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Photo: AP

The quake, which hit Christchurch, population 386,000, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island, was just 7.5 miles deep, which meant it caused widespread damage. Christchurch Hospital said it was inundated with people suffering injuries but there were no reports of any deaths after the quake, which occurred early Saturday morning

No tsunami was reported but several strong aftershocks were being felt in the city and throughout the surrounding Canterbury region. Inspector Al Stewart of Christchurch police said there had been extensive damage, mainly to older buildings which were less able to withstand the shaking, while he also confirmed there had been incidents of looting from shops.

Thousands of homes and businesses were without power, water was cut off, and sewerage pipes were severed. Colleen Simpson, a local resident, said many people ran into the streets after the quake shook them from their beds, afraid of further damage. “Oh my God, there is a row of shops completely demolished right in front of me,” she said.

Several people described the scene in the city centre as looking like “a war zone” and spoke of furniture falling over, windows shattering and walls cracking. One witness said the quake came with a “massive roar” and felt like being on a violent rollercoaster. Bob Parker, the city’s mayor, said events had been “pretty traumatic” and he urged people to check on their neighbours.

New Zealand sits on the seismically volatile Pacific Ring of Fire. The country’s largest recorded earthquake since European settlement was one of 8.2 on the Richter scale, which destroyed much of Wellington in 1855. The last fatal earthquake was in 1968 when a 7.1 tremor killed three people on the South Island’s West Coast.

 

[Yuan Shao]

Earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hits New Zealand city


Earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hits New Zealand city

By Gyles Beckford
WELLINGTON | Fri Sep 3, 2010 9:11pm EDT

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city Christchurch early on Saturday, bringing down power lines, ripping up roads and wrecking building facades, but authorities reported no deaths. Authorities declared a formal civil defense state of emergency to coordinate recovery operations in the city, which has a population of about 350,000 people, after facades collapsed into streets, crushing cars and blocking roads.

Two men suffered serious injuries and police closed off the central business district. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth of 10 kms (6 miles), hitting the South Island city and a large surrounding area of farms at around 4.35 a.m. local time (12:35 p.m. EDT Friday). "There's a lot of damage that I've been able to observe in the central city area, mainly of the old brick and masonry buildings, a number of those have got walls that have fallen into the street," Christchurch mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand.

The city's hospital said two men had been admitted with serious injuries, one hit by a falling chimney and the other cut by glass. It had also treated a few other people with broken bones, cuts and grazes. Police said there were several instances of looting, which had been quickly contained. In the suburbs many houses had broken windows, toppled chimneys, cracked walls and items thrown off shelves.

Power was out over a large area of the city and surrounding region as circuit breakers were tripped at substations, but was being progressively restored after safety checks. Water and sewage services were also disrupted, and there were reports of subsidence in some roads.

RURAL EPICENTRE

Officials were checking how severe the damage was in rural areas, closer to the epicenter, west of the city. Ray O'Donnell, owner of a hotel in Darfield, a small farming community around 20 kms (12 miles) west of Christchurch, said large cracks had appeared in rural roads near the epicenter. GNS Science, the New Zealand government seismological agency, revised its reading of the quake to magnitude 7.1 from an original 7.4.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported it at 7.4 but later revised its figure to 7.0. The city's airport was shut as the runway and facilities were checked, and the railway network and bridges throughout the region were also being checked for damage. The quake was felt as a long rolling motion lasting up to 40 seconds. The area was continuing to feel aftershocks as strong as magnitude 5.2.

"It was a real rocker, and (we're) still getting aftershocks. (It) felt like the house was flying on a whirlwind," Tessa Hay, who lives around 12 km north of the city, told Reuters. Because the quake occurred inland there was no danger of a tsunami. "No destructive widespread tsunami threat exists based on historical earthquake and tsunami data," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

New Zealand scientists record around 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which around 20 top magnitude 5.0. The last fatal earthquake in the geologically active country, caught between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates, was in 1968 when an earthquake measuring 7.1 killed three people on the South Island's West Coast.

 

[Yuan Shao]

A woman walks over debris from a quake-damaged building in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

People stand near a quake-damaged building in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

Quake-damaged car and building are seen in Christchurch September 4, 2010.


​

 

[Yuan Shao]

People stand near a damaged building after an earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

A quake-damaged car is pictured in Christchurch September 4, 2010

A quake-damaged car is pictured in Christchurch September 4, 2010.


​

 

[Yuan Shao]

People look at a damaged building after an earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

People walk past a quake-damaged building in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

Damage is seen on a motorway, north of Christchurch September 4, 2010.


​

 

[Yuan Shao]

A quake-damaged building is pictured in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

Damage from an earthquake is seen in a video frame grab near Christchurch, New Zealand, September 4, 2010.

A car is seen under debris after a major earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010. A major earthquake of 7.4 magnitude hit New Zealand, 30 km (20 miles) west of Christchurch early on Saturday morning, causing no immediate reports of casualties but widespread damage, authorities said.


​

 

[Yuan Shao]

A car is seen under debris after a major earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

Debris lies on a street after a major earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010.

Debris lies on a street after a major earthquake in Christchurch September 4, 2010.


​

 

[eatshitndie]

this is the best scientific explanation of what is going on in the subduction zone under new zealand.

the article is dated august 20, 2009... almost an anniversary plus a dozen days when the study was made.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090805133007.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2009) — New Zealand is the site of one of the world's youngest subduction zones, where the Pacific Plate of Earth's crust dives beneath the Australian Plate. Now, a University of Utah study shows how water deep underground helps the subduction zone mature and paves the way for it to generate powerful earthquakes.

 

[Velma]

Never in my life did I expect NZ to have natural disasters.

 

[tanwahtiu]

I hope kiwibird7 has not been affected.

Sheeps now sounded like 'shit' in NZ. Human are supposed to be migratory animals. Human used to learn from animals warning of disasters to come. BUt now Humans want to live permanently in one place and will have to die under the robble of their own inventions.

Then every weekends Christians pray hoping to die in the kingdom of Jesus heaven and with earth quake they got their wish and die under the rubble of their own inventions. And there is no God to stop this earth quake to save thousands of whore-shippers.

 

[tanwahtiu]

Never in my life did I expect NZ to have natural disasters.

You think Moses can part the sea? without an earth quake and then follow by tsunami that draws back the water you think Moses and God can part the sea?

 

[aangsc]

Oh no, not christchurch ! Has always wanted to visit that city again since my last was 13 years ago.

Luckily our sponsor Sam Leong still alive , otherwise this forum has to shut down !

 

[eatshitndie]

Never in my life did I expect NZ to have natural disasters.

don't worry. disasters are lined up one after another to hit us all over.

it's all just a matter of time. next up...

california quake (the big one)
washington and british columbia quake (the really big big one)
yellowstone super volcanic eruption (really really big big fuck)
volcanic eruptions along ridges in sumatra (really really really big fuckup)
more quakes off sumatra (really x 4 big x 3 fuck x 2)
toba super volcanic eruption (you can kiss sumatra, west malaysia and singapore goodbye)

 

[tanwahtiu]

Oh no, not christchurch ! Has always wanted to visit that city again since my last was 13 years ago.

Luckily our sponsor Sam Leong still alive , otherwise this forum has to shut down !

go book a flight next week and fly there to what war zone is like. Then come back to appreciate what you have.

 

[UpYoz_olo]

go book a flight next week and fly there to what war zone is like. Then come back to appreciate what you have.

Fark you tanwahtiu! KNLBCPCB! A stuck-in-singapore fark-up hopeless arse should keep comments like these to himself. you are jealous that people can live outside singapore, esp a country that is 100% clean n green (not withstanding quakes and volcanoes) where PRCs even resort to smuggle their milk powder back to china. jealous say so lah CB kia.

mu hahahahahahahahaha


:oIo::oIo::oIo::oIo:

 

[mayliewwan]

Waiting for Sperminator and others to blame The Yanks and the HAARP program

4 Sept 2010

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck much of New Zealand’s South Island early Saturday. No tsunami alert was issued and there were no reports of serious injuries, but looters broke into some damaged shops in Christchurch, police said.

The quake, which hit 30 km west of the southern city 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.

Christchurch police reported road damage in parts of the city of 400,000 people, with a series of sharp aftershocks rocking the area. Police officers cordoned off some streets where rubble was strewn about.

“There is considerable damage in the central city and we’ve also had reports of looting, just shop windows broken and easy picking of displays,” Police inspector Mike Coleman told New Zealand’s National Radio. “It’s very unsafe to be out and about.”

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said the “sharp, vicious earthquake has caused significant damage in parts of the city ... with walls collapsed that have fallen into the streets.”

 

[Leongsam]

lucky bastard leongsam still alive. wtf :oIo::oIo:

I'm nowhere near New Zealand you twit.