Strong aftershocks rattled New Zealand's quake-devastated city of Christchurch again Monday, toppling one of the few buildings still standing downtown and sinking thousands of homes into darkness.
Bricks crashed down in the cordoned-off city center, where only workers have tread since it was devastated in February's major earthquake. About 200 people were there when the quakes struck Monday, and two were briefly trapped in a church. More than 40 people have been taken to hospitals with minor injuries from falling debris, the city council said.
All across the city, people fled buildings in panic when a 5.2-magnitude quake struck during lunchtime; just over an hour later, a 6.0 hit, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Smaller quakes were also recorded.
Several buildings were damaged in the central city and suburbs.
Thousands of aftershocks have followed the 6.3-magnitude quake that killed 181 people on Feb. 22. That tremor and its aftershocks have been very shallow, which along with proximity to the city, have made them very destructive. Monday's temblors were six miles (10 kilometers) deep, according to the USGS.
A cliff-top house is seen after its portion fell over a ledge in Sumner, near Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, June 13, 2011, following an earthquake. Click on the following pages to see a close up of the house above and more images taken immediately following the earthquake. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Mark Mitchell)
A close-up photo of a cliff-top house is seen after its portion fell over a ledge in Sumner, near Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, June 13, 2011, following an earthquake. A series of aftershocks rattled the quake-devastated city of Christchurch, pulling down one of the few buildings still standing in the center, sinking thousands of homes into darkness and forcing silt to bubble up from the ground. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Mark Mitchell)
In this photo, a worker inspects the damage at St. John the Baptist Church following series of earthquakes that shook Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, June 13, 2011. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Geoff Slone)
Another photo shows the damaged St. John the Baptist Church. A series of aftershocks rattled New Zealand's quake-devastated city of Christchurch again Monday, toppling one of the few buildings still standing downtown and sinking thousands of homes into darkness. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Geoff Slone)
Products are strewn around in a drug store in Sumner, near Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, June 13, 2011, following an earthquake. (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Mark Mitchell)
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
