Massive quake damages New Zealand’s Christchurch city
September 4th, 2010 - 2:05 am ICT by IANSWellington, Sep 4 (DPA) The New Zealand city of Christchurch was extensively damaged early Saturday when it was hit by a massive 7.4-magnitude earthquake which flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut power, water and sewage connections.
The quake, which was centred 30 km west of the South Island’s biggest city at a depth of 33 km, struck at 4:35 a.m. (1635 GMT). Reports said the extent of the damage would not be known until daybreak.
Aftershocks continued to shake the South Island’s biggest city as emergency services were flooded with calls and police urged residents not to use mobile phones and to stay indoors.
Police shut down the central business district, where roads were reported blocked by the facades of collapsed buildings and broken glass.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries and no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake was felt hundreds of kilometres away and civil defence officials said the national crisis management centre in Wellington had been activated.
Christchurch International Airport was closed and the South Island rail network was shut down pending inspections for damage.
The quake was felt widely across the South Island and in the capital Wellington, at the southern tip of the North Island.
- Emergency declared after New Zealand quake (Lead) - Sep 04, 2010
- 65 killed as quake shakes up New Zealand city (Second Lead) - Feb 22, 2011
- Quake rocks New Zealand - Dec 23, 2011
- Bodies lying around Christchurch after huge quake - Feb 22, 2011
- Minor to moderate damage, some injuries after powerful quake hits New Zealand - Sep 04, 2010
- 65 die as quake ravages New Zealand city (Third Lead) - Feb 22, 2011
- New Zealand quake: Christchurch faces year to recover - Sep 05, 2010
- 5.1 earthquake near New Zealand's Christchurch city - Jul 22, 2011
- Widespread damage reported after major earthquake hits New Zealand's second largest city - Sep 04, 2010
- 5.3-magnitude aftershock shakes Christchurch - Apr 16, 2011
- Emergency declared after massive 7.1-magnitude earthquake hits Christchurch - Sep 04, 2010
- Over 1 00,000 homes damaged by Christchurch quake: New Zealand PM - Sep 06, 2010
- Hundreds dead as devastating quake, tsunami hit Japan (Second Intro Roundup) - Mar 12, 2011
- Japan hit by massive quake, tsunami, 200-300 killed (Roundup) - Mar 11, 2011
- Aftershocks jolt Christchurch - Mar 05, 2011
Tags: aftershocks, broken glass, central business district, christchurch city, christchurch international airport, civil defence, collapsed buildings, crisis management, daybreak, defence officials, emergency services, facades, kilometres, magnitude earthquake, management centre, national crisis, power water, sewage, southern tip, tsunami warning