Alysha Sewell

News Editor

On Tues. Feb. 22, a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand.  The quake is considered an aftershock of the 7.1 magnitude tremor that hit in September.  Before these two incidents, it was unknown that there was a geologic fault in that area.
“It’s not a new fault in the sense that it has only just been created, but it is a new fault that has only just been discovered,” explained Dr. Roger Musson, head of the seismic hazards and archives at the British Geological Society.
“Wellington has always been considered much more at risk because it straddles the plate boundary,” said Australian Seismological Centre director Kevin McCue.  The fault runs north to south, dissecting the country.  It runs along the western coast of the South Island just before splitting in two, a little south of the capital, Wellington.
The September quake, even though it was stronger, caused less damage and there were no fatalities.  This is because that quake was in the middle of the night and centered further from the city and was located deeper underground.  The recent tremor happened in the middle of the day and was located just outside the city and shallow underground.  It was said that it could be felt as far as Wellington and Dunedin.

Many were stuck in the rubble but rescuers were able to safely remove a great deal of people.  However, due to the severity of the quake, as of Mar. 7, 166 people were confirmed dead.  The victims ages ranged from five weeks to 87 years old.
Many buildings were severely damaged such as the Christchurch Cathedral, parts of the Christchurch Hospital, historic Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings, the Canterbury Television building, a number of churches, and many houses and stores.
“This is just heartbreaking. This may be New Zealand’s darkest day,” expressed Prime Minister John Key during a trip to survey the damage.