An estimated 7.0* magnitude earthquake has hit New Zealand's second largest city, Christchurch at about 4:35 AM local time (1:35 PM ET), and is being followed by strong aftershocks, one as strong as 5.7. According to MSNBC
Radio New Zealand described the quake as “severe,” and reported that power was out across the city and that several roadways were damaged.
No casualties were immediately reported, but some residents posted Twitter alerts reporting damage and large aftershocks. The government said the earthquake was “a big one” and that it would decide soon whether to activate its national disaster procedures.
*I'm seeing estimates from 7.0 to 7.4, a big range. This is an updated number from The USGS website.
Final Update: The thing that most strikes me about this earthquake is that it is almost exactly the same magnitude as the one that struck Haiti earlier this year, both 7.0. The earthquakes were eerily similar, but the results have been astonishingly different. Yes, the damage in Christchurch is significant and some buildings were severely damaged. But so far no fatalities have been reported and both damage and human toll pale in comparison to what we saw with Haiti.
In the case of Haiti vs. New Zealand the difference was in building codes and infrastructure. Another way of saying it is that the difference was between extreme poverty and relative wealth. My heart goes out today to the people of New Zealand, as they begin the long road to rebuilding, and I congratulate them on how prepared they were for this major quake. And my heart remembers the people of Haiti, who have such limited hope of ever rebuilding the little they had.
Very similar earthquakes. Two very different worlds.
This building used to be two stories via Kossack GlowNZ
More earthquake damage via Flickr and mem from somerville
A 7.0* magnitude earthquake (update: some sources calling it 7.4) is quite severe, and the aftershocks are being described as strong. I'll monitor the news and provide updates here. Please link in the comments to anything you have and I'll add it in the body.
Interesting side note: While researching updates for this diary I found a story from just yesterday discussing upgrades to the Pacific Islands Tsunami Warning Systems, under the leadership of New Zealand.
Update #1: CNN is now reporting the story, with a few on-the-street interviews. They also report that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center does not expect the quake to generate any tsunami.
A man who was at the international airport in Christchurch described the scene.
"The entire terminal started shaking," he said. "I knew it was an earthquake.There was not much you could do at that point."
Authorities evacuated the airport, he said. He saw minor damage, but nothing major.
"We've just had a terrible earthquake," said Paula May, a Christchurch resident. "We have no power. Lots of stuff in the house is all over the floor. All the power is down so I can't see anything. There's no power in the town."
Update #2: From the BBC (h/t Question Authority)
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has struck off New Zealand's South Island, the US Geological Survey has said.
The epicentre was 30km (20 miles) north-west of Christchurch, at a depth of 16.1 km (10 miles), it added.
There have so far been no reports of any damage or casualties. Christchurch is New Zealand's third largest city with a population of about 342,000.
Update #3: The Associated Press and a couple of other sources are calling this a 7.4 quake. May seem like a small difference, but it's actually pretty big. Stay tuned.
Update #4: The New Zealand Herald is reporting power and water cut off with some building damage. No reports on extensive damage, though Kossack GlowNZ mentions a radio report of at least one building collapse.
New Zealand Herald reporter Jarrod Booker who lives in the central Christchurch suburb of Linwood said he was woken by "extremely violent shaking."
"Items were falling and crashing around the house. It was extremely violent shaking."
He said the chimney from his next door neighbour's house had fallen and smashed through the windscreen of a car.
Update #5: Update on story above (Update 4) from the New Zealand Herald now reporting at least one building completely down:
"The building just along the road from us (Newstalk ZB radio) here has been flattened - it's on the ground," he (reporter Craig Kerr) said.
Update #6: NPR reports significant road and building damage and reminds us that it's not yet daylight in New Zealand - many damage assessments will have to wait until then.
The quake, which hit 19 miles west of the southern city of Christchurch, shook thousands of residents awake when it struck at 4:35 a.m. local time. Radio New Zealand reported that national emergency officials said there was significant road damage as well as damage to a number of buildings in the city of 400,000 people. About half of Christchurch's central business district and all the suburbs were without power.
Update #7: via MSNBC The US Geological survey has, "revised its initial forecast of a moderate impact and was projecting potentially “very heavy damage” in some areas of the city."
Update #8: via The New Zealand Herald again:
There are reports of some buildings demolished in Victoria St, Christchurch after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Christchurch and Canterbury.
Police have just asked residents to not travel into the CBD, saying that the older buildings in the central city have sustained damage and they are unsure if any further collapses may occur.
*CBD=the central business district
Update #9: TVNZ reporting many injuries but not major injuries.
A spokesman from Christchurch Hospital says they are flat out this morning, inundated with injured people, following this morning's 7.4 magnitude quake in Christchurch.
The spokesman is describing the scene at the Christchurch hospital as absolute chaos, however injuries reported so far are minor.
Call this Update #9.1: According to the New Zealand Civil Defence (that's how they spell the word, common outside the US) website, the hospital is on generator power only.
Update #10: From the US Geological Survey again (h/t yellowdog), more details on the quake:
The September 3, 2010 South Island, New Zealand earthquake occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting within the crust of the Pacific plate, near the eastern foothills of the Southern Alps at the western edge of the Canterbury Plains. The earthquake struck approximately 50 km to the west-northwest of Christchurch, the largest population center in the region, and about 80-90 km to the south and east of the current expression of the Australia:Pacific plate boundary through the island (the Alpine and Hope Faults). The earthquake, though removed from the plate boundary itself, likely reflects right-lateral motion on one of a number of regional faults related to the overall relative motion of these plates and may be related to the overall southern propagation of the Marlborough fault system in recent geologic time.
Update #11: MSNBC now has some photos up of the damage.
Also, The New Zealand Herald is now reporting two serious injuries, though thankfully still no fatalities.
Update #12: Looks like New Zealand may be about to declare a state of emergency, according to local TV news.
A state of emergency is likely to be declared soon following a massive earthquake in Christchurch this morning.
The Minister of Defence made the announcement during an interview with 3 News this morning, after an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck around 30km west of the city at 4.30am.
Note that most New Zealand sources are still categorizing the quake as a 7.4 magnitude.