A 6.3 earthquake that lasted for about a minute hit Christchurch lunchtime today bringing major destructions everywhere in the city, 65 deaths and hundreds injured. This tremor is just one of the hundreds aftershocks since the September 4 earthquake that measured 7.1 in the Richter scale. It struck 10 kms southwest of Christchurch and filled the streets with debris. It was so strong and caused buidings to collapse trapping thousands of people inside. One of those destroyed was the church located in the Cathedral Square. The airport tower also collapsed cancelling all flights. There is no electric power, telephone lines have been jammed, roads cracked, water pipes bursted and trees were uprooted.
The residents described it as unbelievable and there was a great amount of shaking. The city was evacuated due to fire and gas leaks in some of the buildings. There is chaos and terror in the area and warnings of future shocks have been issued. More fatalities are expected and total cost of damages may reach to billion dollars.
New Zealand is one of the countries located in the “Ring of Fire” – an area where large numbers of earthquakes are expected to happen due to series of oceanic trenches. Christchurch is the largest city in the southern part of New Zealand and the 3rd largest in the country.
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