SHOCKS DOWN UNDER
New Zealand 7.8 quake kills 2
A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island early this morning — killing two people — while stirring bad memories for at least one local New Zealander whose native country was devastated by an earthquake and tsunamis that ravished the same region in 2011.
Today’s earthquake struck just after midnight in a mostly rural area that’s dotted with small towns. Near the epicenter, it opened up snaking fissures in roads and triggered landslides.
New Zealander Simon Leeming, of Canterbury, N.H., works for New Zealand’s consulate in New England and was in Christchurch in 2011, when it was hit by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake, destroying much of the downtown area and killing 185 people. That quake was one of New Zealand’s worst disasters, causing an estimated $25 billion in damage.
“The whole room erupted. The floor was bulging up and down. The walls were bulging up and down. ... I thought I was going to die,” recalled Leeming.
Leeming said his 28-year-old daughter experienced the earthquake from her apartment in Wellington. “It was very scary for her. The first shake went on for two or possibly three minutes.”
New Zealand, with a population of 4.7 million, sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common.
Although today’s quake was stronger than in 2011, its epicenter was deeper and much farther from major urban areas. Location, depth and other factors beyond magnitude all contribute to the destructive power of an earthquake.
It caused damage in Wellington, the capital, more than 120 miles to the north and was also strongly felt in the city of Christchurch to the south. Police said one person died in the small coastal town of Kaikoura and another in Mount Lyford, a nearby ski resort.
John Ebel, senior research scientist at Boston College’s Weston Observatory, which has been recording earthquakes since 1930, said New Zealanders might have to cope with aftershocks for months.
He said a 7.8-magnitude earthquake is rare, occurring once or twice a year.
“The people who live near the epicenter of the earthquake will be feeling dozens of earthquakes over the next few days. The earthquake activity will die away. ... But over the next several months, there is a possibility for potential damaging aftershocks,” Ebel said.
Prime Minister John Key said waves more than 6.5 feet high hit the coast but the tsunami threat had since been downgraded to coastal warnings. He said authorities had no reason to believe the death toll would rise above the two reported fatalities.