New Zealand Earthquake 2011: Christchurch In Ruins After 6.3-Magnitude Temblor

At least 65 people have died after a massive earthquake toppled churches and tall buildings in one of New Zealand's biggest cities.

As CBS is reporting, Tuesday's temblor was the second major quake to hit Christchurch in five months, though it caused more damage than a considerably stronger September quake. Though rescue efforts are continuing, more than 100 people are thought to remain trapped in the rubble late Tuesday night. Some survivors have been able to send text messages or make phone calls from under the wreckage.

"It is just a scene of utter devastation," Prime Minister John Key said after rushing to the city. "We may well be witnessing New Zealand's darkest day." In addition, the quake has shaken a massive chunk of ice loose from the country's biggest glacier.

See photos of the scene in Christchurch here:

• • • • • • • • • • • • The powerful earthquake struck one of New Zealand's biggest cities Tuesday at the height of a busy workday, toppling tall buildings and churches, crushing buses and killing dozens of people in one of the country's worst natural disasters.

Comments

[BeautyAmerican]

09:04 PM on 02/23/2011

God bless New Zealand and Christchurch and its inhabitants.

[thepoliticalcat]

12:53 AM on 02/23/2011

Good thoughts to all the New Zealanders living through this. The world has grown so small. When I was a young pup, one hardly even heard of what happened in other countries. Today, the news takes seconds to travel from one nation to another. Best wishes to you Kiwis here and at home.

[tploomis]

12:12 AM on 02/23/2011

Christchurch is one of my favorite cities. I hope they can get back on their feet quickly.

[FilmCriticOne]

10:00 PM on 02/22/2011

Its very hard to tell how bad things are -- news reports sensationalize things absurdly.

I was involved iin the "Flood of 93" in Illinois and saw daily what was going on, and helped with sandbagging. But the news reports had virtually NOTHING to do with the reality I saw. I remember Harry Smith with ABC news crying on camera about how devestating it was in our area -- total nonsense. His story was pathetic hype.

Ever since then, I just don't know if their stories are hype, or connected to reaality

[BeautyAmerican]

09:07 PM on 02/23/2011

They do tend to sensationalize, but then in Haiti the magnitude of loss of life was so grossly under-reported. It depends on what type of communications system exists and whether or not it works. In any case I am hoping the best outcome for Haiti (still under siege) and I hope the same for New Zealand.

[Hayley Moore]

09:30 PM on 02/24/2011

Hi am currently living in Christchurch. I can tell you this news story is not being sensationalized in anyway whatsoever. The number of deaths is currently 113 with the final toll expected to be 200+. In a country not accustomed to large scale disasters when a small city of 390,000 loses over 200 of its residents it not only affects the local community but the country whole. Much of the coverage has thus far focused on the rescue efforts in the CBD however many of the wider suburbs have also been affected by liquefaction and still remain without power, sanitation and water three days on. With many blocks having been completely destroyed it is estimated that it will take several years to rebuild the city and I know for me, having grown up here, my beloved city will not be the same for not only have we lost lives but we have also lost our architectural heritage with many of the city's historic buildings also having been damaged beyond repair.
Be strong Christchurch I love you. Right now my thoughts go out to all those who went to work that morning and never returned home as I was lucky enough to do.

[juloz]

01:21 AM on 02/27/2011

Perhaps the sensationalism is happening outside the affected city. Here in Sydney the press is nauseating. I pick up the weekend paper and wonder how the media can justify the exploitation of people in pain, to make sales and reap profits. Do we really need a front page photo of a devastated family just realizing the death of a wife and mother?
Isn’t it enough to know some unlucky soul in a crushed building in downtown Christchurch had his legs amputated on site? Apparently not. We need to know specifics: that a pen knife and a local carpenter’s hacksaw were used by a couple of doctors, one of whom was so sickened by the procedure that she remains too traumatized to be hounded by reporters for a comment. We need to know a local cop relentlessly hacked away until the leg came off before the man was whisked away to hospital.
Keeping readers interested in an event for days afterwards necessitates stories such as these. It's the way it works and it's sickening

[Walter H]

04:41 PM on 02/22/2011

Tragic.

And iroinic. How can a town named Christchurch be wiped out by an act of God?

[thepoliticalcat]

12:54 AM on 02/23/2011

Perhaps because there is no god. What kind of deity would crush such a small, peaceful city in a small, peaceful nation, for no reason?

[Daniel Shen]

08:31 AM on 02/28/2011

No god! but maybe if the town has been doing bad things that god would no longer be able to protect it and would then be open to attack.

[katio]

04:14 PM on 02/22/2011

Had a lovely time visiting friends in Christchurch several years ago. What a beautiful, livable city. So sad.

[GV97]

03:41 PM on 02/22/2011

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Christchurch,New Zealand.
From a family in Florida.

[sonshine]

03:31 PM on 02/22/2011

I wish the people of New Zealand and especially Christchurch the best as they cope with the earth quake. I can't help but wonder if the christianists will call this gd's punishment since these people are white. Hm.

[WhippetGood]

11:47 AM on 02/22/2011

I live on a fault, so this really hits home. Thoughts and prayers are with the Kiwis.

[Laura Clark Taylor]

11:39 AM on 02/22/2011

I was in Christchurch many years ago...such a beautiful city with some breathtaking cathedrals and scenery! My thoughts go out to all these Kiwi's and their loved ones.

[FZliveson]

11:27 AM on 02/22/2011

"A man runs for cover" in picture 10 is a strange caption.
Looks like the shaking has long since subsided.

[PenGoddess]

01:20 PM on 02/22/2011

Could be an aftershock. I was in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake that hit the Bay area and at the first indication of a tremor, the instinct was to run for cover.

[FZliveson]

01:58 PM on 02/22/2011

I lived in Los Altos and went through some shakers in the 1950's too.
I think it was a clever, sensational, caption. He was not running for cover.
Cheers,
FZLO

[allhazardsblog]

10:53 AM on 02/22/2011

Page aggregating social media, news and information sources for the Christchurch earthquake is at http://allhazards.blogspot.com/2011/02/feb-2011-new-zealand-christchurch.html

[collettethehedgehog]

11:39 AM on 02/22/2011

THanks

[Slacktoo]

10:53 AM on 02/22/2011

Such a devastating situation, and my thoughts go out to all the families of the dead and missing.

But on a related noted, why is this city called "Christchurch", and are they planning to rename it to a more secular, non-religious title?

[CFAmick]

11:35 AM on 02/22/2011

It sounds like a heavy metal band.

[burglarbil]

12:10 PM on 02/22/2011

What's in a name? It was founded by English settlers, looking to create - in their view - an idyllic English city, in a departure from the hardships of their mother country. The name Christchurch was only named after a college in Oxford, England traditionally was a Christian society. New Zealand is now possibly one of the most secular countries in the world with nearly 40% stating "no religion" on the last census.

I'm not sure who "they" are but I haven't seen too many cities change their name over something as whimsical as that.

[Mystic01]

10:25 AM on 02/22/2011

Even though NZ is located along a known faultline, it would appear that not many buildings were constructed to withstand a major earthquake.

[taz7]

10:55 AM on 02/22/2011

This is not true. New Zealand has the one of the strictest modern day building codes in the world. The buildings that collapsed were all at least 50+ years old and had not yet been retrofitted.

95% of buildings are at a very high building code and only have superficial damage. Keep in mind the media is only going to show the worst of the worst.

Christchurch was never believed to be at a high risk, the fault was hidden and totally unknown before the September quake. It has also been reported that the intensity of todays quake approached close to 1g with an epicenter almost directly below the city.