Large earthquakes rock Christchurch

Large earthquakes
rock Christchurch
June 13, 2011 - 3:55PM
Damaging magnitude 6.0
and 5.5 earthquakes
which rocked
Christchurch earlier
today have not lessened
the government's resolve
to rebuild the shattered
city, Prime Minister John
Key says.
The magnitude 5.5 quake
struck at 1pm, 10
kilometres east of
Christchurch at Taylor's
Mistake beach, at a depth
of 11 kilometres, and sent
people scrambling for
cover. It was followed at
2.20pm by a more
powerful magnitude 6
quake, centred 10
kilometres southeast of
the city and 9km
underground.
At least 10 people were
taken to Christchurch
Hospital with injuries due
to falling building material
after the 1pm quake.
Other residents from the
devastated city cried in
the streets and hugged
their children.
Police said there were no
reports of injuries
following the second
aftershock.
The quakes are the latest
in a series of dozens of
aftershocks to hit
Canterbury following the
devastating February 22
earthquake, where 182
people died, and a
damaging magnitude 7.1
earthquake last
September. The February
22 quake measured
magnitude 6.3 and left
100,000 homes damaged -
10,000 beyond repair.
Christchurch's CBD was
left in ruins, with 900
buildings - many in what
has become known as the
'red zone' - expected to
be demolished.
Mayor Bob Parker told
Radio NZ the second
quake was the strongest.
"Thank God we had
evacuated the red zone,''
he said.
"We are being enveloped
with dust. It is very very
scary.
"We need to get a picture
of what is really
happening and to make a
call on where we need to
send our essential
services."
More masonry has fallen
from the ChristChurch
Catheral in the second
aftershock, sending up
large clouds of dust.
There are also reports
that another building in
Lichfield Street has fallen
down.
BUILDINGS FALL
More masonry fell from
the landmark
ChristChurch Catheral
and there were reports
of other buildings - in
Lichfield St, in Latimer
Square and at the corner
of Stanmore and
Worcester streets -
falling down.
A house fell off a cliff at
Sumner.
Two men who had been
salvaging windows from
the St Johns Church in the
central city were
reported to have
received cuts and bruises
and were taken to
hospital.
St John staff member
Alistair Drye said the two
men were okay, but
shaken.
"The walls fell down
around them," he said.
The church had been
severely damaged in
February's earthquake
and was set to be
demolished.
Walls around the outside
of the church had "fallen
and crumbled" during
today's aftershocks,
while the roof had
collapsed onto the organ
and the front of the
church, he said.
The tower of Lyttelton's
hiostoric Timeball
Station fell in today's
second quake.
Using binoculars,
Lyttelton resident Peter
Evans said he could see
the remains of the
Timeball Station from his
back garden.
"You can see the tower
has come down. The back
roof looks like its
collapsed into the
building. The top of the
tower has fallen off and
is lying on the ground. The
building has collapsed
really."
Stonemason Mark Whyte
was employed to take
down the Timeball
Station to see if it can be
rebuilt. He was up a crane
when the first
aftershock hit. He said
immediately went into
Christchurch to check on
other heritage buildings
he is in charge of
dismantling.
Asti Renaut had returned
home and was chatting to
a neighbour across the
fence when the
second earthquake
struck.
"It felt like I was surfing
on the lawn," she said.
Dominos Pizza assistant
manager Renee Murray
said Stanmore St
buildings, in
Christchurch, had also
partially collapsed.
"All the shops have fallen
down,'' she said. "Half of
the roof has fallen in.
They have not fully
collapsed.''
Roads and bridges have
been closed due to
further damage and
widespread liquefaction.
And there have been
reports of serious rock
falls at Shag Rock,
Boulder Bay and other
coastal areas.
In the Liggins St area of
Horseshoe Lake, the
ground was bubbling with
sand spurting out of the
ground, as happened in
the first two major
quakes, a resident said.
EMERGENCY SERVICE
RESPONSE
Canterbury police
communication manager
Stephen Hill said police
moved to evacuate the
red zone after the first
quake.
A St John spokesperson
said several ambulances
were operating in the city
and others were on
standby.
Firefighters rescued two
people from St John's
Church in central
Christchurch, fire
communications
spokeman Iain Lynn said.
Fire Service spokesman
Dan Coward said there
had been countless
callouts to burst pipes,
especially in the Sumner
area where many locals
were "freaked out".
He said fire crews were
investigating a number of
suspected fires and the
smell of smoke in various
sites around the city.
Christchurch Airport is
closed.
Air New Zealand
spokesperson Marie
Hosking says there are no
flights in and out of
Christchurch at the
moment.
Inspections are being
carried out on the
runway and the airport
will remain closed until it
has been fully assessed.
Marie wasn't aware of
any damage to the
runway or buildings.
The national air traffic
control centre in
Christchurch has
continued to operate
enabling flights to
continue throughout the
country, Airways
Corporation
communications manager
Nikki Hawkey says.
"Operational staff stayed
on but everybody else
has gone, we just can't
have people here that
aren't essential."
Mayor Parker said
officials were "still in the
information gathering
stage" but Christchurch
was unlikely to be
plunged back into a state
of emergency.
"We were lucky it didn't
go on for longer. But
something as sharp and
violent as that would
have damaged stone
buildings."
IMPACT WIDESPREAD
Significant rockfalls have
been seen in Sumner and
parts of Banks Peninsula
and land and cellphone
lines were down in many
of the beachside suburbs
and in the Heathcote
Valley.
Liquefaction had been
reported across the
eastern suburbs and as
far away as Kaiapoi,
which was hard hit in the
September quake.
Sirens were sounding
throughout the inner city
and helicopters were
flying over the red zone.
Telephone networks
reported lines
overloading and asked
users to text rather than
call. Telecom, Telstra and
Vodafone all reported
congestion.
One Pak 'n Save Wainoni
worker said items had
been thrown from the
shelves and the floor was
littered with food and
broken glass.
"It was pretty freaky. It
felt like it was right under
the supermarket," she
said.
Sumner Supervalue
supermarket is closed
while staff clear fallen
stock.
Residents in Beckenham
and Merivale said
crockery smashed and
shelves were emptied.
EVACUATIONS
All staff at the Art Gallery,
currently being used by
earthquake and council
officials, were evacuated.
Students at Burnside
High, Christ's College, St
Margarets, and St
Andrews College, were
also sent out of buildings
to the safety of playing
fields.
There were evacuations
at Canterbury University,
Westfield Riccarton mall
and Pak 'n Save Wainoni.
Staff at the Canterbury
Earthquake Recovery
Authority have
evacuated their Papanui
building and won't return
until a structural engineer
has assessed it, a civil
defence spokesman said.
Canterbury University
law student Jennifer
Jones was on the second
floor of the university
library when the quake
hit. "It started off not too
bad but then all the books
started flying off the
shelves. You've got 11
floors above you so
everyone got out pretty
quickly."
Riccarton mall was
evacuated after the
earthquake at 1pm today
with reports of fallen
roof tiles and raised
floors in the building.
No injuries were reported
as several thousand
people were forced
outside.
Several Westfield
employees were in the
building when the
magnitude 6 quake struck
at 2:20pm but were
unhurt.
Greymouth pair Matt
Adams and Crystal
Graham-Hayes were
shopping in Amazon when
the magnitude-5.5 quake
hit at 1pm.
''All the lights started
shaking to the ground. I
freaked out a little bit,''
Adams said.
''One of our mates [in
Greymouth] texted
before and said they felt
it a little bit.''
The pair had not
experienced a
Christchurch quake
before but Graham-Hayes
felt they tempted fate
this time.
''About ten minutes
before the shakes I
turned to [Adams] and
said 'We haven't felt one
yet' and then it happened.
''Watching everyone
trying to run down the
escalators that go up
was a bit interesting.
Everyone was pushing
everyone out of the way
trying to get through.
Very scary.''
Configure Express Gym
manager Janet Peterson
said shoppers' reactions
varied.
''It was a mixture. Some
people were used to
them but others you
could see blankets being
wrapped around people
and people physically
shaken up.''
Alena Smith, a retail
assistant at fashion store
Bling, had a near miss
with a falling lightbulb.
''I saw a lightbulb just fall
straight down in front of
me. There was a bit of
shattered glass.''
A spokeswoman for
Westfield said the mall
would not reopen today.
There were evacuations
at Canterbury University,
Westfield Riccarton mall
and Pak 'n' Save Wainoni.
One worker said items
had been thrown from
the shelves and the floor
was littered with food
and broken glass.
"It was pretty freaky. It
felt like it was right under
the supermarket," she
said.
There were reports of a
fire on Edgeware Road.
Residents in Beckenham
and Merivale said
crockery was smashed
and shelves were
emptied.
More liquefaction has
been reported in
Christchurch's eastern
suburbs.
In the Liggins Street area
of Horseshoe Lake, the
ground was bubbling,
with sand spurting out of
the ground, as happened
in the first two major
quakes, a resident said.
Phone lines were
overloading.
Lyttelton Tunnel closed
briefly, but has reopened.
Witness accounts
A witness near the tunnel
said the quake dislodged
rocks from the Port Hills
above, some of which
looked to be as big as car
tyres.
Central Christchurch
resident Jon Hicks said
"everything came out of
the fridge" during the
quake.
Other items had fallen
over inside his home, but
power and water
supplies were still
working as normal, he
said.
Anthony Surynt was
working in an electrical
workshop in Sydenham,
close to the CBD, when
the quake hit. He says it
came on really fast and
lasted for about 10 to 15
seconds. "It was quite
quick. I wouldn't be
surprised if another
building came down."
He says it didn't feel as
big as the February 22
quake but compared it to
the September quake. Mr
Surynt ran out of the
building as soon as he felt
the earthquake, fearful
of all the electrical
equipment in the
workshop. He has now
gone back to work.
Christchurch east MP
Aaron Gilmore said he was
just getting out of his car
when the quake hit and
couldn't work out what
was going on.
"I could see the ground
rise on the road, it was a
bit freaky."
There was cracking in the
wall of his North New
Brighton office that
hadn't been there in the
last quake and more
liquefaction and water.
"I was here for that last
5.5 quake and it definitely
felt bigger," Mr Gilmore
said.
Twitter user Nathanael
Boehm said his two-level
house "swayed heaps".
"Was up and ready to
leap out a window if it
started coming down.
"That would have been
bloody close to a 6
magnitude quake. Heart
going mental. Hope
everyone ok!"
Other Twitter users also
reported smashed items
in their houses and car
alarms being set off by
the aftershock.
Richard Derham reported
walking through the Arts
Centre car park and
seeing "a couple of
hundred cars start
dancing".
- Stuff.co.nz
This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/
environment/large-
earthquakes-rock-