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New Zealand Quake Causes 'Significant' Damage

   7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes Christchurch early Saturday

   VOA News 04 September 2010

Photo: AP

   A  car  damaged  by  rubble  from  a  building  is  seen  following  a
   7.1-magnitude  earthquake  in central Christchurch, New Zealand, early
   Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010.

   New  Zealand  authorities  say  a  strong  earthquake  that  shook the
   country's  second  largest city of Christchurch has caused significant
   damage to infrastructure, but no deaths.
   Christchurch  Mayor  Bob Parker declared a state of emergency Saturday
   after  the  pre-dawn quake on New Zealand's South Island.  Government
   seismologists  put  the  magnitude  at  7.1, while the U.S. Geological
   Survey gave a lower figure of 7.0.
   Only  two  serious  injuries  were reported - one man hit by a falling
   chimney  and another hurt by glass. New Zealand Civil Defense Minister
   John  Carter  says  his nation is "extremely lucky" that there were no
   fatalities.
   The  earthquake  threw  people out bed as they slept and sent panicked
   residents  running  into  the  streets.  The facades of many buildings
   collapsed,  crushing  cars  and  littering  the ground with bricks and
   glass. But there were no reports of entire buildings collapsing.
   The  quake  ruptured  underground utility lines for natural gas, water
   and sewage.  It also damaged bridges and disrupted power supplies and
   phone networks.
   New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was expected to visit Christchurch
   to assess the cost of the disaster.

   Police  reported  some  incidents  of looting at damaged stores in the
   city,  whose  population  numbers  about  350,000.   The Christchurch
   airport was closed after the quake as a precaution but re-opened later
   Saturday.
   Strong  aftershocks  continued  to shake the city during the day, with
   the largest measuring 5.3.  New Zealand is situated on the boundaries
   of  the  Pacific and Australian tectonic plates and experiences around
   14,000 earthquakes a year, most of them relatively minor.

   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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