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I just saw on CNN that a magnitude 7 earthquake has struck near Christchurch, New Zealand. Just praying that the damage is minimal and that our friends near there are unaffected. All the best to all,
Tom

Major damage to Christchurch South Island, 7.4 quake 0430hrs, no loss of life reported , minor looting in CBD, power and water cut off to most parts of Christchurch city, Cellphone towers running on back up battery power ,with only couple of hours remaining. Police called in off duty staff, infrastructure damage bridges , roads out. One son and daughter contacted me saying shaken scared but ok, not heard yet from other son.

Airport closed, port closed.

Sorry to hear that such a beautfull city has been damaged.
Anyway glad to hear there are no reporte casualties.

Juan

Thanks for the update Chas and Tom for bringing it to our attention.Thankfully nobody is hurt

Marc

11.5 hrs. later Christchurch still experiencing aftershocks @ 5.2 Richter scale, parts of city being evacuated, major infrastructural damage, still no loss of life reported , lots of minor injuries inundating Hospitals, Rural areas hit hardest with no power sewage or water, scientists report land mass moved approx 1.5 - 2 metres horizontally along the major fault line.

Chas,
Wishing you and your family as well as the rest of NZ all the best. Be well and stay in touch.
Tom

No loss of life is the important thing. Property can be replaced/rebuilt. Hope our Kiwi Cousins recover quickly from this.

Worse to come as heavy Gale warning issued for the Christchurch and Canterbury region, winds of 130km/hr predicted later today. With infrastructure already badly hit emergency services are going to be stretched to the limit, NZ Army placed on standby to provide assistance. 20 aftershocks now reported since this morning, rail cut off to Christchurch. Scientists discovered that greater number of faults existed than previously thought. My son had narrow escape he had just gont to bed and was half asleep when the quake hit, he had old CRT TV on large cabinet which fell onto bed just missing him.

Cost estimated so far at $2 Billion.

Man!! Glad your son is OK

Chas- our thoughts and prayers go out to you, your family and countrymen. 7.4 is a very significant earthquake.

I won't bore you with engineering details but the lateral forces in an eathquake of that magnitude are staggering. I would expect some major building damage or loss depending on how advanced the Kiwi building cods are. Older buildings and non-reinforced masonry structures may end up in a big pile. Surprisingly, wooden residential building will survive the best.

Please keep us posted on what's happening there. Mother Nature has been in a very foul mood this past year for some reason.

Best wishes for a speedy return to normal. :cheer: