Strong earthquake hits NZ Christchurch city center
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand. February 22. KAZINFORM A strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand South Island city of Christchurch, causing widespread destruction in the city center. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand that it felt like a whole new earthquake, not just an aftershock of the Sept. 4 7.1 quake. "It was very, very strong," he says.
He said he has had unconfirmed reports of serious injuries.
People have thronged onto the streets of the city center. There are fresh piles of rubble everywhere.
Christchurch Airport has been closed and evacuated, and will remain closed until further notice.
New Zealand Civil Defence Minister John Carter said the situation is very serious.
He said the emergency headquarters in the Beehive have been activated and the head of Civil Defence, John Hamilton, is on his way there.
Telecom said it is working to determine which services have been affected by the quake, and getting them restored as soon as possible.
GNS Science said the quake, which struck at 12:51 p.m. local time (2351 GMT on Monday), was centered 10 km southeast of the city at a depth of 5 km. Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com for full version