Another Earthquake Hits Christchurch
TV New Zealand is posting Live updates: Christchurch quake.
The ABC report: Multiple deaths as quake strikes Christchurch
Multiple fatalities have been confirmed after a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch, bringing down buildings and buckling roads.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck near the city at a shallow depth of just four kilometres shortly before 12:50pm (local time) with the city at its busiest.
Police said Central City was being evacuated, with multiple deaths reported at several locations, including two buses crushed by falling buildings.
- Quake has caused multiple deaths
- Second major quake to hit city in six months
- Extensive damage in city, power cuts
- City has run out of ambulances
- 5.6-magnitude aftershocks recorded
- A level 3 emergency has been declared
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Christchurch was struck by a major 7.1-magnitude earthquake in September last year. That quake was felt through much of the South Island and caused widespread damage.The region has been struck by thousands of aftershocks since the original quake.
New Zealand, which sits between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates, records on average more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which about 20 would normally top magnitude 5.0.
This was a shallow earthquake that struck a city where the structures were already weakened by the previous quake, so some, like the Cathedral, just collapsed. It occurred during the middle of the day so there were more people concentrated near the epicenter, and in multi-story buildings.
