• 65 people are confirmed dead and more deaths are expected as rescuers comb through the rubble in Christchurch's centre after a 6.3-magnitude shock hit the city during lunch hour
• Emergency crews are working through the night to reach the 100 to 200 people thought to still be trapped inside collapsed buildings
• Tourists were said to have been in the tower of Christchurch Cathedral when it collapsed, and they are feared dead
• Power and water supplies have been cut off within most of the city, with an evacuation from the city centre being ordered
• Towns outside Christchurch closer to the centre of the earthquake are also said to be devastated
"I was shocked and saddened to hear of the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch earlier today, killing so many people. The ties that bind the UK with New Zealand are very close and my thoughts are with the friends and families of all those who have lost their lives and been affected by the earthquake. Many people in the UK with links to New Zealand will be watching anxiously as the situation develops. Our high commissioner in New Zealand is on her way to Christchurch and we stand ready to provide any assistance that we can to the authorities and to any British nationals who have been caught up in the earthquake."
Nathanael Boehm, a web designer, said he was standing near a tram track when the quake struck, sending the eaves of buildings cascading onto the street below.
"It was horrific. People were covered in rubble, covered in several tons of concrete," Boehm said, adding that he believed some of them had been crushed to death.
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."
Since the September 3, 2010 mainshock, there have been approximately 6 M>=5.0 aftershocks in the Christchurch region. The February 21st earthquake represents the largest aftershock to date, more that half a magnitude unit larger than the previous largest aftershock.
It's been so surreal - spread by text news here in Auckland what had happened. In the space of about 10 minutes it went from one confirmed death, to 17, to 64, and now 65. Biggest disaster in living memory - unconfirmed report just announced that deathtoll is now at 2-400. The newsreaders are having such difficulties presenting the news without their voices shaking, and eyewitnesses, even now, 9 hours on, are shaking and traumatised. Wish that I lived closer so I could give a hand, or lend my place to stay at, or anything. Theres just so much rubble everywhere, and dust and distress. And new aftershocks every hour of a high magnitude. It's just surreal.
Im in Wellington and felt it at my desk. A colleague of mine was on a day work trip, though she is safe as are friends I have there and the friends and families of others I know. Of course others again have not been so lucky. The news coverage is just so surreal looking at the damage, especially to a landmark building like the cathedral. September's quake was bad enough and it was a miracle there wasnt loss of life. This second blow is scarcely believable.
The earthquake that struck Christchurch has caused some 30 million tons of ice to break off from New Zealand's biggest glacier. Tour guides at the Tasman Glacier in the Southern Alps say the quake caused the ice to "calve" from the glacier, forming icebergs in the terminal lake. Tourists of Glacier Explorer boats say the icefall caused waves of up to 3.5 metres in height which swept up and down the lake for 30 minutes. The glacier is about 120 miles (200 kilometers) from Christchurch on the west coast. The powerful earthquake struck Christchurch on Tuesday, toppling tall buildings and churches, crushing buses and killing at least 65 people.
Australian tourists Gwendoline and Ian Robinson were halfway through their lunchtime bagels when the windows in the Christchurch cafe began shattering. "Things started sliding and you could hear it crashing and you looked around and things were just falling everywhere so it was just really strange," Mrs Robinson, 66, said. "You were being shaken backwards and forwards, side to side ... everything was moving in different directions." She sheltered under the table with her 70-year-old husband. "It just kept going and going and there was glass and everything sliding everywhere and things falling and windows breaking," she said.
Dr Gideon Rosenbaum, a lecturer in the School of Earth Sciences, at the University of Queensland, explains the seriousness of a 6.3 earthquake.
"A magnitude 6.3 earthquake can be devastating in one place and quite harmless in another. It depends on many factors. Most important is the distance of the epicentre from populated areas. As far as I understand, the earthquake today was shallower and closer to Christchurch in comparison to the September earthquake. The type of rocks in the affected areas are also very important. Hard rocks are stronger and more resistant, whereas soft rocks, particularly if wet, can amplify the seismic effect (a process called liquefaction). I think that Christchurch is built on silt that was affected by this process."
Dr Gary Gibson, principal research fellow in the School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, on the strength of the quake.
"This is by far the largest earthquake to have occurred in the Christchurch region in historic time. Earthquakes larger than magnitude 6.0, usually deeper than this event, occur about annually in New Zealand, including one of magnitude 7.8 that occurred in the remote southwest of South Island in July 2009 with little damage."
As for the frequency of quakes to hit New Zealand, Gibson says:
"New Zealand is more prone to earthquakes because it is on the plate boundary and has many plate boundary earthquakes. Large earthquakes occur infrequently in Australia. In all of Australia a magnitude 6.0 or larger event occurs on average every ten years. In the capital cities of Australia, a nearby magnitude 6.0 will occur on average every few thousand years. All earthquakes in Australia are at shallow depth, similar to those in about Christchurch."
The spire of the cathedral has collapsed into the square below, while major structural damage is shown to buildings in the city, with some almost completely collapsed.
The video shows a man and woman being rescued from a building by onlookers and rescue workers.
At least 100 people remain trapped in the ruins of Christchurch tonight following a devastating earthquake which claimed at least 65 lives.
Prime Minister John Key announced tonight that "at least 65 people have lost their lives" and noted the rescuers were still scrabbling through the ruins of collapsed buildings looking for injured and trapped survivors - and bodies.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker tonight said more than 100 people were trapped in about six sites - but it was possible more were trapped in individual houses.
TV3 has had unconfirmed reports that the death toll could reach between 200 and 300.
The 23 students from Toyama college of foreign languages were eating lunch at King's Education, a language school in Christchurch, when the quake struck. The school is reportedly located inside Christchurch's CTV building, which collapsed in the earthquake. The students, 12 of whom are still unaccounted for, arrived in the city last week and were due to study English in New Zealand until 13 March. Japanese media are reporting that a student and graduate of a language school in Kyoto, as well as three female students from Kagawa University, have not been heard from since the earthquake.
"I have been utterly shocked by the news of another earthquake in Christchurch. Please convey my deep sympathy to the families and friends of those who have been killed; my thoughts are with all those who have been affected by this dreadful event. My thoughts are also with the emergency services and everyone who is assisting in the rescue efforts."
Canterbury police district commander superintendent Dave Cliff says the scene is grim, but over 100 people have been freed so far. Another 100 are still thought to be trapped.
Photograph: David Wethey/AP
From the pictures I've seen, the majority of the buildings that have been damaged date from the 1970s and 1980s. This was a time when earthquake design was still very primitive. The more modern buildings would have performed much better. A lot of damage seems to have been caused from facades that have fallen from buildings. This is typical of older buildings. Buildings are now designed to fail in a controlled way. You design the building to be strong enough to survive the earthquake. But you can never make a building entirely earthquake-proof.
Rescuers climb across rubble in Christchurch. Photograph: David Wethey/EPA
At this time RWC 2011 must take a back seat while Christchurch deals with the aftermath of this tragedy. Our thoughts are very much with the people of the region. It is too early to talk about any implications for the tournament and any assessment must wait while the rescue and recovery efforts take priority.
The Foreign Office has set up a global response centre in the UK on 0044 207 008 8765. For those in New Zealand, the number for assistance is 04 924 2898.
The Salvation Army has relaunched its Canterbury Earthquake Appeal. You can donate online via the Salvation Army's New Zealand website or on 0800 53 00 00 from within New Zealand or by post to The Salvation Army, PO Box 27 001 Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand
From the New Zealand Red Cross (NZRC):
"NZRC is not currently requiring or accepting donations of goods or volunteers at this time. NZRC are currently focusing on roles supporting the CDEM response. Urgent email enquiries can be referred to our National Emergency Operating Centre at nzrceoc@redcross.org.nz.
"For welfare related enquiries and requirements for affected persons please call the Government help line on 0800 7799977 (NZ number)."
"To lodge an enquiry in relation to missing relatives please call the NZ Red Cross National Enquiry Centre on 0800 REDCROSS (0800 733 276) (note this line may be overloaded)"
"International restoring family links enquiries from Red Cross or Red Crescent national societies can be sent to familylinks@redcross.org.nz further information will be pending."
The Auckland University Students' Association: "Anyone wanting to make a donation should contact the association on (09) 309 0789, or make a donation in person around the Student Union Building on the University of Auckland campus."
News website 3News.co.nz has a page set up where people can offer a bed for those who have had to leave their homes.
And this Facebook group offering Earthquake-struck Cantabrians a bed is also going strong.
From clairetnelson
I'm a NZer who has been living in the UK or 6 years and am actually flying home to Wellington on Saturday for a wedding. Nothing makes me want to get home to family more than something like this. My heart broke seeing the footage of what the people of Christchurch are going through. As a kiwi you spend your life preparing for something like this - we did earthquake drills at school - yet nobody could expect something of this magnitude to hit so devastatingly. When one part of the country suffers, every New Zealander suffers. I have cried many tears for NZ today. I can't wait to get home.
From furryyy
by the way: the 1000 or so people who had to be evacuated from the city centre and were waiting around at the nearby park, have been moved to a sheltered marquee. Luckily, the Ellerslie flower show was in town and had their tents, lights etc all set up for the event, so its being used as the overnight accommodation for about a thousand people. They're now sheltered from the weather(it's 10 degrees celsius and raining), had some water to drink, and eaten a hot meal. A lot of them seem to be tourists and people who were staying at hotels in the city centre. Those who want to catch a flight out aren't assured they'll get one, because although domestic flights are resuming in the morning...roads are a big problem and their luggage/documentation are still stuck in their hotels.
Just heard - from total stranger on Twitter - that my daughter and family are ok. He went round to her house for me . Kindness in bad times.
Brian Edwards Media
brianedwardsmed
Contrary to early reports of an evacuation, Christchurch hospital remained open, and was operating at full capacity, despite suffering minor structural damage. "There are some patients with very severe injuries, and we're expecting more – there are many people still trapped in the city tonight," hospital spokesperson Karalyn Van Deursen told the Guardian. Patients with less serious injuries were being treated at other hospitals in the region, while a number of triage centres were set up around the city. Two intensive care teams were expected to fly in to Christchurch overnight.
Peter Rutherford, a secondary school teacher, was in Cathedral Square, in the heart of the city, when the spire of the landmark Christchurch cathedral collapsed. "We were just passing the cathedral, when someone picked up Christchurch and shook it quite hard," Rutherford told the Guardian. "And it seemed to get quite bad quite quickly. The spire just twisted and started to fall. I turned and ran, then turned around to see a guy pull a woman out from where the spire fell."
For students who had returned to school just three weeks ago after the summer break, the impact would be enormous, Rutherford said. While many were still affected by the fallout from the September 4 quake, living away from their homes or their parents having lost work, most had settled back into their routine. "That feeling of security that they'd finally started to feel again has been completely busted open and the impact to the city is much more devastating than the initial quake. With the fatalities of this, it's going to be a long time before any of the students recover from this. Looking into their eyes afterwards – that fear had come back in a big way."
It is expected to be two weeks or longer before most schools can reopen.
Daniel Tobin, multimedia editor at the Christchurch Press, was buying lunch in the central city when the quake struck. "I ran out of the shop and the building in front of me came down on top of people, and the building beside it came down on top of people, and the building the other side came down. It was horrific scenes, lots of people screaming," he told the Guardian.
Tobin ran back to the Press office to collect his camera and went back outside to collect chilling footage of the immediate aftermath that has since been viewed around the world.
The Press building itself was hit badly. "There were people trapped, I think there's still one person trapped. They were dragging people out all day. The roof collapsed on to the third floor."
Speaking late on Tuesday night, Tobin described a city in shock. "This evening it's dark, there's no power in the streets. There's lots of liquefaction, so there's lots of soil and water on the streets. Lots of the roads are badly damaged." The impact is of a different order to the September earthquake, Tobin said. "It's a completely different mood. There's just total terror in people's eyes. There's a lot of people leaving town, just to get out of Christchurch. I think people have had enough. We thought it was all over, and we start to rebuild, and then – it's a strange feeling of what next, what are we going to do?"
Today's magnitude 6.3 earthquake was a very large aftershock following the 3 September magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Its focus was at a very shallow depth of about 5 km, which doubtless contributed to the severity of the ground shaking that witnesses in Christchurch describe as more severe than in September. The rupture was also much closer to the city, and this too made it worse. Other, hopefully smaller, aftershocks are to be expected. These will be a hazard to people trapped in damaged and weakened buildings and their rescuers.
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