Multiple fatalities after strong earthquake hits New Zealand, others trapped

[News_Editor]

Multiple fatalities after strong earthquake hits New Zealand, others trapped

2011-02-22 09:45:01 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND (BNO NEWS) -- An unknown number of people were killed, injured or trapped after two strong earthquakes struck near the New Zealand city of Christchurch on early Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The first earthquake, a magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale at 12.51 p.m. local time (2351 GMT Monday), was centered about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) southeast of Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand. It struck about 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GeoNet), the country's seismological agency.

Minutes later, at 1.04 p.m. local time (0004 GMT Tuesday), a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the same location at a depth of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). It was followed by a 5.5-magnitude earthquake at 2.50 p.m. local time (0150 GMT).

Police said there was widespread damage and casualties as a result of the earthquakes. "Multiple fatalities have been reported at several locations in the central city, including two buses crushed by falling buildings," said Stephen Hill, a Police District Communications Manager. "A doctor and emergency services are attending."

Hill said multiple buildings have collapsed while other buildings are on fire, with people still trapped inside. One local television station reported that as many as 200 people could be trapped in one building alone. This was not immediately confirmed.

"The National Crisis Management Centre has been activated. MCDEM is standing up all available Urban Search and Rescue teams. An Australian team has been put on call," the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) said.

MCDEM added that Christchurch hospital has re-opened after it was earlier evacuated as a precaution. "Only one ward was damaged," it said. Three triage centers have been established in Central City, Sydenham and Papanui.

Emergency services were scrambling to respond to the earthquake, and police said defence forces were being called in to assist. It gave no other details.

Meanwhile, Christchurch International Airport was evacuated because of the earthquake. "Christchurch Airport remains closed. The terminal buildings and airways control tower remain intact. Please do not travel to the airport," the airport said in a statement. Police said there were no injuries at the airport.

Telecom New Zealand said some of its network sites have been "badly damaged" and are not working, while others are operating on battery back-up power. "Telecom is working intensively to understand which services have been affected by today's earthquake and get these restored as soon as possible," the telephone company said.

It added: "To minimize the stress on the network and to conserve back-up power we ask people to only use their phones for emergency calls."

Last year, a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck just kilometers (miles) from Tuesday's epicenter. Some 100 people were injured in that earthquake, but there were no fatalities.

A geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said it was not yet able to determine if Tuesday's earthquake was an aftershock to the earthquake September. "But it is close," he said, adding that the agency is still investigating.

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