A strong earthquake hit Canterbury just after 4.30 this morning. It was 7.1 on the Richter scale. This is about the same as the Haiti earthquake but very fortunately no one was killed. Two people are in hospital with serious injuries. The population of Canterbury is only about 560,000.
The earthquake was centred about 30km west of Christchurch and was quite shallow, only about 10km deep. There is a lot of damage to buildings in some parts of Canterbury while other parts have very little damage. The railway lines are twisted west of Christchurch. The central city area in Christchurch has many old buildings which have lost walls, chimneys and roofs. Some areas in the east have large cracks and holes in the ground. There are flooded streets in some places.
Most places in Christchurch had no power or water for some time this morning. However, on some streets, there were broken water pipes sending jets of water into the air. A fire started in one building when the power came on again.
The first shock lasted less than a minute but was very scary. Most people jumped out of bed as soon as the quake started, to stand under a doorway. Buildings shook back and forward and it was almost impossible to walk until the shaking stopped. Smaller after-shocks are still continuing. They are also scary.
It was lucky this happened when most people were home in bed and not out on the streets.
Questions
1. What is the safest thing to do when an earthquake hits at night when people are asleep?
2. What is the safest thing to do when an earthquake hits during the day when people are at work or school?
3. What can you do to your house to prepare for an earthquake?