Hope our fellow IORRians are OK down there.

Reports coming in through Twitter: [www.google.com]

BIG one colonial ...hope ya okay man.....



ROCKMAN

6.3 is a bitch !! Man does NZ get hit by these things over and over. Hope everyone is OK. Was there (Christchurch) in '87 I believe, nice little town... Take care, CCMind

6.3 "Shaker" this time round..oh' well business as usual..anyone done a "Have The Stones played during an Earthquake" thread yet?..

Quote
colonial
..anyone done a "Have The Stones played during an Earthquake" thread yet?..

I'm pretty sure that one hasn't been done yet, Colonial.

Wanna give it a try?

..footage pouring in ........... more damage than back in September



ROCKMAN

Good to hear from you colonial. Glad you're OK. Sure hope this goes for everybody else.

-------------------
Keep On Rolling

6.3 on the Richter-scale is huge! Hope everyone is well. Experienced 3.8 last summer and it felt like a tank company passing just outside my door. I can't imagine 6.3!

Hi all

Message from auckland, damage looks worse than last one with loss of life likely. Will keep you updated, I work in the Police here and we have been told we cant leave work at this stage as many of us will have to go to christchurch and help. I will be petitioning for a Stones show to raise money and am happy to let the boys stay with me in auckland. Will have to get Keith to sign another photo as he did for my first Mick, have had another Dyan since then and another on the way who will be Charlie if it is a boy. Christchurch have had such a bad run with the last quake and then the hundreds of aftershocks since and now this one. It was closer to the main city and shallower which is why the damage from all reports is so much more severe

Cheers, Brendon

Quote
masoudi
I will be petitioning for a Stones show to raise money

you're joking, right?

Since our last earthquake in September apart from a few small afterstocks things in Christchurch have slowly started to get back to normal again.But that one was in the early hours and lucky no one was hurt.But this one was at 12.50pm and is alot worse.I did'nt realise how bad it was until I seen it on TV.Christchurch has a big British population with alot architecture very similiar to what ya' see in Britain..its a great city.

Quote
colonial
6.3 "Shaker" this time round..oh' well business as usual..anyone done a "Have The Stones played during an Earthquake" thread yet?..

Played right after the big 89 quake in the Bay Area. Donated something like half a million dollars to the relief fund as I remember!

By STEVE McMORRAN, Associated Press Steve Mcmorran, Associated Press – 1 min ago
WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A powerful earthquake struck New Zealand's already-bruised city of Christchurch on Tuesday, collapsing buildings, burying vehicles under debris and sending rescuers scrambling to help trapped people amid reports of multiple deaths.

The 6.3-magnitude quake struck on a busy weekday afternoon, in contrast to a major quake that damaged the city last September but caused no deaths when it struck before dawn on a weekend. Police said there were reports of multiple fatalities from the latest temblor, while Prime Minister John Key told Parliament details of the deaths still were too shaky to confirm.

Witnesses said the quake destroyed the iconic stone Christchurch Cathedral, its spire toppled into a central city square, and police said there was a report of two buses crushed under falling buildings.

Live video footage showed sections of buildings collapsed into the streets, strewn with bricks and shattered concrete. Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, and thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens blared.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city center.

"Make no mistake — this is going to be a very black day for this shaken city," he said when asked about possible deaths.

The airport was closed and Christchurch Hospital was evacuated. Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water. Some cars apparently parked on the street were buried under rubble.

Some people were stuck in office towers and firefighters climbed ladders to pluck people trapped on roofs to safety.

"The details we have are extremely sketchy," the prime minister told Parliament. "The worrying fear, of course, is that this earthquake has taken place at a time when people were going about their business — it is a very populated time, with people at work, children at school. Sadly, I cannot rule out that there have been fatalities.

"But we are aware of significant damage to buildings that had people in them at the time," he said.

Key said people were being told to get out of the city for their safety.

New Zealand police said in a statement that there were reports of multiple fatalities in the city, including a report that two buses had been crushed by falling buildings. The police statement said there were other reports of fires burning.

Gary Moore said he and 19 other colleagues were trapped in their twelfth floor office after the stairwell collapsed in the quake. He did not know if people on other floors were trapped.

"We watched the cathedral collapse out our window while we were holding onto the walls," Moore said. "Every aftershock sends us rushing under the desks. It's very unnerving but we can clearly see there are other priorities out the window. There has been a lot of damage and I guess people are attending to that before they come and get us."

The multistory Pyne Gould Guinness Building, housing more than 200 workers, has collapsed and an unknown number of people are trapped inside. Television pictures showed rescuers, many of them office workers, dragging severely injured people from the rubble. Many had blood streaming down their faces. Screams could be heard from those still trapped.

Parker, the mayor, said he was on the top floor of the city council building when the quake hit just before 1 p.m. local time, throwing him across the room.

"I got down onto the street and there were scenes of great confusion, a lot of very upset people," he said. "I know of people in our building who are injured and I've had some reports of serious injuries throughout the city."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the city at a depth of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). A 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit shortly after 7 miles (11 kilometers) east of the city at a depth of 3.7 miles (6 kilometers).

"When the shaking had stopped I looked out of the window, which gives a great view onto Christchurch, and there was just dust," said city councilman Barry Corbett, who was on one of the top floors of the city council building when the quake struck. "It was evident straight away that a lot of buildings had gone."

Christchurch has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks since a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Sept. 4 last year, causing extensive damage and a handful of injuries, but no deaths.

The city is home to about 350,000 people and is considered a tourist center and gateway to the South Island.

New Zealand sits on the Pacific "ring of fire" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching from Chile in South America through Alaska and down through the South Pacific. It records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year — but only about 150 are felt by residents, and fewer than 10 a year do any damage.

The Sept. 4 quake wrecked hundreds of buildings in the city, and caused an estimated 4 billion New Zealand dollars ($3 billion) in damage. A strong aftershock in December caused further damage to buildings.

The city was still rebuilding from those quakes when Tuesday's temblor hit.

Quote
Edith Grove
Hope our fellow IORRians are OK down there.

Reports coming in through Twitter: [www.google.com]

Edith Grove..Its just amazing with all this technology..your in New Orleans and ya' knew we had an earthquake before I even knew myself..and I live just south of Christchurch..cheers mate

Hope alls well colonial - stay safe mate.Cheers.

At least 65 people dead at this stage



ROCKMAN

dread - wishing the best -

Glad to hear colonial is OK, but this looks like a bad one - all good wishes for the people of Christchurch.

yea'.. Thanks Greenlady,Rolling Hansie,Rockman.kirkcr..and everyone.Theres been alot of international offers of help.Australia..America..Canada and Britain will certainly be involved they've always been a great help.We've quite a few American Seismologists over here..its always interesting to hear what they've got to say..they seem to be quite fascinated with our earthquakes.

My sincere condolences to every loved ones of fatalities in this dark hour in Kiwi. We are with you in spirit mates.

Hold back New Zealand !

stay safe, colonial!!!

heartfelt best wishes to you and all, in the beautiful city of Christchurch.

I rememember staying at a small hostel in Christchurch on a round the world trip I did about 20 years ago.Saw a bit of footage of a YHA place that got badly hit.I thought Christchurch along with all the other places in NZ I visited were great .God bless you all and lets hope there are not too many more casualties announced.

reports that the death toll could be between 2 to 4 hundred.

Yeah colonial sadly the death toll will climb high over the next day or two



ROCKMAN

How about the IORRians in Liberia?

2 1 2 0

Good to hear you are well, Colonial! Take care mate

brutal. Glad to hear you're OK, colonial and best wishes to everyone affected.

My wife's uncle and his family live in Christchurch, and they'd some damage done in the last quake. Hopefully they'll be ok following this one.

Quote
Come On
How about the IORRians in Liberia?

Don't know of any, or why they should need our sympathy - or do you mean Libya?

[lighting the stay-steady incense for all you kiwis]