A powerful earthquake rattled New Zealand at 4:35 a.m. nearby time Saturday morning. The USGS posted a magnitude of seven.2.
The quake epicenter was four miles south-southeast from Christchurch, New Zealand, on the nation’s south island. Nearby media reviews there have been powerful aftershocks and power outages all through the town.
Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest metropolis with a population of roughly 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 everyone ok
@the4avenues: Insane earthquake in #Christchurch this morning! That got me out of bed faster than any alarm-clock.
@julierodenberg: seven.four magnitude earthquake in Christchurch. It shook the water out of the toilet bowl. Insane!
Christchurch, the biggest metropolis in New Zealand’s South Island, was extensively damaged early today by a massive seven.4-magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut energy, water and sewage connections.
Seismologists stated the quake was centered about 19 miles west of the metropolis, and caused extensive damage because it was centered only 6 miles underground.
Only two serious injuries had been reported and officials stated mass casualties were avoided because the quake struck at four:35 a.m. when most individuals had been nonetheless asleep.
There had been reports of serious damage at the port of Lyttelton, seven miles from the metropolis centre, but no tsunami warning was issued.
As aftershocks continued to shake the town of nearly 400,000, police closed the central business district – where roads were blocked by the fallen facades of office blocks – because of the threat of further collapses.
News reports stated police had been investigating reviews of looting of wrecked shops and companies.
People, several still 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.