Earthquake and Tsunami Slams New Zealand

by Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake has hit New Zealand. At least two people have been killed.  Hundreds of aftershocks have continued to rock the area, the strongest registering at a 6.2 magnitude.  Roads and buildings have sustained significant damage, and the quake triggered a number of landslides, dam breakage sending a wall of water down the Clarence River, and a tsunami warning.  Large ocean swells slammed New Zealand’s capital Wellington, in the North Island, and Christchurch.  The last killer quake killed 185 people in 2011.  That earthquake was a 6.3.

As with California, New Zealand is no stranger to earthquakes, lying in the seismically active “Ring of Fire” that partly circles the Pacific Ocean. Around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur within this region.

– Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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Chaos in Christchurch - Daily Mirror, U.K.

Massive Quake, Tsunami - AFP/Yahoo

Two Dead following Powerful Tremor - BBC

Aftershocks cause more evacuations - Daily Mail, U.K.

Powerful Earthquake Strikes New Zealand - Associated Press