I just heard from my brother in Chch and he is reporting minor damage in St Albans, but a lot of older shops in CBD had their facades collapse.
News update:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news
Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits Chch
Published: 6:12AM Saturday September 04, 2010
Source: NZPA
Earthquake in Christchurch causes widespread damage –
Source: ONE News
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck about 30km west of Christchurch at 4.35am today.
The quake was at a depth of 33km.
Radio New Zealand reported that police advised power to Christchurch was out, and that part of Avonside Dr in the city had been ripped up.
There was a hole in the road which meant it could not be driven on.
Structural damage to houses and broken glass was being reported from throughout Christchurch, while damage and power outages had been reported from as far away as Dunedin.
A Timaru resident told NZPA he was awakened by the shaking. His house was groaning and a bedside lamp crashed off its table.
The central city in Christchurch has been closed by police.
Civil Defence response
Civil Defence said the National Crisis Management Centre has been activated in response and people in the affected area should expect aftershocks.
Tony Wallace, Civil Defence duty manager told ONE News there had been no reports of injury yet.
Power out
Roger Sutton of Orion Energy told ONE News that almost the whole of rural Canterbury is this morning without power.
Half of the Christchurch central business district was without power and most of northern Christchurch, he said.
Power was shut down so that the safety of the network could be assessed.
No Tsunami threat
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said no destructive widespread tsunami threat existed based on historical earthquake and tsunami data.
But earthquakes of this size sometimes generated local tsunamis that could be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the earthquake epicentre, it said.
Following is the time line from the NZ Herald. Link to NZ Herald
5.59am
Darfield, west of Christchurch and close to the epicentre of the earthquake, is experiencing rumbling earthquakes. Power is off in the town but a resident reported only minor damage after the quake, measured 7.4 on the Richter scale, hit at 4.30am.
5.57am
A series of substantial aftershocks is still continuing to rock parts of Canterbury.
A resident in Ashburton reports a major shock hit around 5.50am. However, the town continues to have lighting and power.
“We mainly had stuff knocked off shelves.”
5.42am
There are reports of some buildings demolished in Victoria St, Christchurch after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Christchurch and Canterbury.
Police have just asked residents to not travel into the CBD, saying that the older buildings in the central city have sustained damage and they are unsure if any further collapses may occur.
5.41
Reports of the earthquake are coming in from as far afield as New Plymouth and Invercargill.
The quake was centred 33km west of Christchurch but New Zealand residents are reporting feeling the earthquake or aftershocks hundreds of kilometers away.
