A strong earthquake rattled New Zealand at 4:35 a.m. local time Saturday morning. The USGS posted a magnitude of 7.2.
The quake epicenter was 4 miles south-southeast from Christchurch, New Zealand, on the nation’s south island. Local media reviews there have been powerful aftershocks and power outages throughout the metropolis.
Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city with a population of approximately 372,000.
Some Twitter users in Christchurch were awoken by the earthquake and tweeted about it:
@mojomathers: OMG! That was a freakin big earthquake. Stuff broken. Ongoin aftershocks. Hope everybody ok
@the4avenues: Crazy earthquake in #Christchurch this morning! That got me out of bed quicker than any alarm-clock.
@julierodenberg: 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch. It shook the water out with the toilet bowl. Insane!
Christchurch, the biggest metropolis in New Zealand’s South Island, was extensively damaged early these days by a huge 7.4-magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut power, water and sewage connections.
Seismologists stated the quake was centered about 19 miles west of the city, and brought on extensive harm because it was centered only 6 miles underground.
Only two serious injuries had been reported and officials stated mass casualties had been avoided simply because the quake struck at 4:35 a.m. when most people had been still asleep.
There had been reports of serious harm at the port of Lyttelton, 7 miles from the city centre, but no tsunami warning was issued.
As aftershocks continued to shake the city of nearly 400,000, police closed the central business district – where roads had been blocked by the fallen facades of office blocks – because with the threat of further collapses.
News reports stated police had been investigating reports of looting of wrecked shops and companies.
Individuals, many nonetheless in pajamas, reportedly walked the streets in a daze, inspecting devastated houses that looked as though they had been bombed. The Avon River overflowed its banks, causing floods as the quake struck.
