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Buildings were reduced to rubble, essential services cut, and there were
outbreaks of looting after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck New
Zealand's second largest city. By Paul Chapman in Wellington
Published: 10:18PM BST 03 Sep 2010 The quake, which hit Christchurch, population 386,000, on the east coast
of New Zealand's South Island, was just 7.5 miles deep, which meant it
caused widespread damage.
Christchurch Hospital said it was inundated with people suffering
injuries but there were no reports of any deaths after the quake, which
occurred early Saturday morning No tsunami was reported but several strong aftershocks were being felt
in the city and throughout the surrounding Canterbury region. Inspector Al Stewart of Christchurch police said there had been
extensive damage, mainly to older buildings which were less able to
withstand the shaking, while he also confirmed there had been incidents
of looting from shops. Thousands of homes and businesses were without power, water was cut off,
and sewerage pipes were severed. Colleen Simpson, a local resident, said many people ran into the streets
after the quake shook them from their beds, afraid of further damage. "Oh my God, there is a row of shops completely demolished right in front
of me," she said. Several people described the scene in the city centre as looking like "a
war zone" and spoke of furniture falling over, windows shattering and
walls cracking. One witness said the quake came with a "massive roar" and felt like
being on a violent rollercoaster. Bob Parker, the city's mayor, said events had been "pretty traumatic"
and he urged people to check on their neighbours. New Zealand sits on the seismically volatile Pacific Ring of Fire. The country's largest recorded earthquake since European settlement was
one of 8.2 on the Richter scale, which destroyed much of Wellington in
1855. The last fatal earthquake was in 1968 when a 7.1 tremor killed
three people on the South Island's West Coast.
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