Christchurch had two big after-shocks today and many smaller ones. The first one, at 1 pm was 5.5. It felt very strong. Most schools closed after that and parents came to collect their primary school children. The next after-shock at 2.20 pm was 6.0. The centre of both shocks was 10km south-east of Christchurch and about 9km deep. The second after-shock is the third biggest shake Christchurch has had. First, the earthquake on September 4th was 7.1, then the shake on February 22nd was 6.3.
Once again there was liquefaction in the eastern part of Christchurch. Small volcanoes of water and silt burst through the ground in many places, flooding the roads. Some areas lost water and power as underground pipes and power lines broke. Listen to March 1st 2011 to hear more about liquefaction.
Buildings which were damaged before are now more damaged. In the CBD red zone (the Central Business District), more bricks and concrete fell. The cathedral in the Square has more damage.
Some people were injured but no one was seriously hurt. Many people, however, are very nervous.
All schools will be closed tomorrow so that officials can check the buildings to make sure they are safe.
Vocabulary
silt – is mud and sand
Earthquake or after-shock? Usually we think of after-shocks as being smaller than the first earthquake so the two today can be called “after-shocks”; however, because they were so big, we can also call them “earthquakes” or “shocks” or “shakes”.
Grammar
Note: biggest, second biggest, third biggest. We could also say, “third in size”, or “number three in size”. It is possible to say “I am the third tallest in my class”, “this is the third highest building in our city”, “she was the third fastest runner”.
I really think that it’s great to have this websites. is it possible to get the words highlighted as they are being read?