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6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes New Zealand leaving at least 65 dead


BY JEFF WALKER
          STAFF
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday in Christchurch, New Zealand a major earthquake rattled the city causing major damage and an untold amount of injuries and at least 65 deaths.

The earthquake a 6.3 was followed 15 minutes later by a 5.6 aftershock. Early reports say that there is chaos in the streets as many buildings have collapsed in some of the major cities.

One reports has multiple deaths reported after a building tumbled onto a bus. There is also a report of the 147 year old Christchurch Cathedral collapsing during the quake.

One of the more disturbing problems is that the country’s 111 emergency service is not functioning, leaving citizen’s without a way to contact emergency officials.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the earthquake.

Mayor of Christchurch, Bob Parker said he has heard of some serious injuries inside the city’s city council building, but none of the injuries could be confirmed. The council building is located in the central part of the city.

There are reports of sidewalks and road cracked and buckled as much as three feet. Some reports have also said dazed citizens are wandering the streets while bodies are being pulled from the rubble of buildings.

Christchurch is located in the southern half of New Zealand and has a population of approximately 376,700 people. The region suffered a 7.1 earthquake on September 4, 2010 which was the largest earthquake in the country’s history, but there were no death in that quake.
E-mail Jeff at: email@lakecounty-sentinel.com
POSTED 02/21/2011    22:58