Powerful quakes hit shaken NZ city again
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SERIES of powerful tremors rattled the quake-prone New Zealand city of Christchurch yesterday, destroying buildings and sending boulders tumbling down hillsides nearly four months after a quake killed 181 people in the city.
There were no reported fatalities. New Zealand's Civil Defence said 10 people suffered minor injuries in the quakes, with the strongest put at a magnitude of 6.0.
Buildings were evacuated and infrastructure damaged across the city, still trying to recover from the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit the city on February 22.
Yesterday's quake knocked the New Zealand dollar lower and was seen as another hurdle to rebuilding New Zealand's second largest city, likely encouraging the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to keep interest rates on hold for longer.
"You can draw a picture already of a significant earthquake," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand. A cloud of dust had enveloped the city after the quakes, he said.
Civil Defence said two people had been rescued from a damaged church.
There were no further reports of trapped people.
As with the initial quake, yesterday's aftershock sent boulders on the city's Port Hills tumbling towards houses. Parts of the eastern city which suffered the most damage in February's tremor suffered from flooding and liquefaction - where solid ground is turned into liquid by the force of the quake.
New Zealand's GNS Institute said the earthquakes were within the expected pattern after February's tremor and could well trigger fresh seismic activity.
"We would expect a number of aftershocks in the magnitude-4.0 to 5.0 range on the coming days and weeks," said Kelvin Berryman, GNS's manager of Natural Hazards Research.
Prime Minister John Key said the new tremor would probably affect recovery efforts. "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild," he told reporters in parliament.
Power was cut to about 50,000 houses and there were reports of damage to roads, buildings and water supplies. A number of homes were likely to remain without power overnight, with the temperature likely to dip close to freezing.
Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude-7.1 quake struck the city on September 4.
Parts of the city center have been closed since the February 22 quake.
On Monday, five tremors of magnitude-4.3 or greater were recorded. A 5.5 tremor was believed to have caused most of the damage 10 kilometers southeast of the city center.
The cost to rebuild Christchurch after the quakes has been estimated at around NZ$15 billion (US$12.2 billion).
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates after the February tremor to a record-equalling low of 2.50 percent.
But signs of recovery and an upbeat assessment from the bank at its review last week have led markets to price in rate rises from December.
Markets would start to ease back on expectations of a rate hike, said Tim Kelleher, a vice president at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"It puts things like the rebuild of Christchurch further on delay," he said.
There were no reported fatalities. New Zealand's Civil Defence said 10 people suffered minor injuries in the quakes, with the strongest put at a magnitude of 6.0.
Buildings were evacuated and infrastructure damaged across the city, still trying to recover from the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that hit the city on February 22.
Yesterday's quake knocked the New Zealand dollar lower and was seen as another hurdle to rebuilding New Zealand's second largest city, likely encouraging the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to keep interest rates on hold for longer.
"You can draw a picture already of a significant earthquake," Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand. A cloud of dust had enveloped the city after the quakes, he said.
Civil Defence said two people had been rescued from a damaged church.
There were no further reports of trapped people.
As with the initial quake, yesterday's aftershock sent boulders on the city's Port Hills tumbling towards houses. Parts of the eastern city which suffered the most damage in February's tremor suffered from flooding and liquefaction - where solid ground is turned into liquid by the force of the quake.
New Zealand's GNS Institute said the earthquakes were within the expected pattern after February's tremor and could well trigger fresh seismic activity.
"We would expect a number of aftershocks in the magnitude-4.0 to 5.0 range on the coming days and weeks," said Kelvin Berryman, GNS's manager of Natural Hazards Research.
Prime Minister John Key said the new tremor would probably affect recovery efforts. "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild," he told reporters in parliament.
Power was cut to about 50,000 houses and there were reports of damage to roads, buildings and water supplies. A number of homes were likely to remain without power overnight, with the temperature likely to dip close to freezing.
Christchurch has experienced a number of strong earthquakes since a magnitude-7.1 quake struck the city on September 4.
Parts of the city center have been closed since the February 22 quake.
On Monday, five tremors of magnitude-4.3 or greater were recorded. A 5.5 tremor was believed to have caused most of the damage 10 kilometers southeast of the city center.
The cost to rebuild Christchurch after the quakes has been estimated at around NZ$15 billion (US$12.2 billion).
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates after the February tremor to a record-equalling low of 2.50 percent.
But signs of recovery and an upbeat assessment from the bank at its review last week have led markets to price in rate rises from December.
Markets would start to ease back on expectations of a rate hike, said Tim Kelleher, a vice president at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"It puts things like the rebuild of Christchurch further on delay," he said.
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