New Zealand quake kills dozens

[White Eagle]

I pray this post finds our JUB friends down under safe from harm. I don't recall seeing any from NZ on here, but my feelings are the same.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41709359/

New Zealand quake kills dozens

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch Tuesday, killing dozens, trapping over 100 and collapsing buildings.

Prime Minister John Key said at least 65 had died as a result of the disaster and told reporters that the death toll was expected to rise further. "It is a just a scene of utter devastation," he added.

Television footage showed streets strewn with bricks and shattered concrete. Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, and hundreds of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered as sirens blared throughout the city.

 

[Kulindahr]

I've been following this a bit. It's really astounding that the epicenter was right under the city. Statistically, that was bound to happen somewhere eventually, but it's got to suck being the ones it hit.

What's scary is the liquefaction of soils. From playing with earthquake models in the lab at OSU, I know that depending on the soil and the duration of the quake, buildings can actually tip or sink. That's a danger where I am, on the Oregon coast; we've got sedimentary formations of all sorts under lots of the towns, such that on one block buildings could just vibrate while two blocks away they tilt, crack, shatter, and even sink if the quake goes on long enough. I haven't heard any of that from New Zealand, though I suppose that's the sort of detail that may not become evident until the initial focus on raw destruction passes.

One commentator -- I don't know what channel; I was flipping here and there -- noted they could be thankful it was "only" a 6.3 -- because if it had been a 7 with the same epicenter, there wouldn't be a Christchurch any more (a 7 being a bit over five times as powerful). I think he's overstating the case a little, but he's got a point. And a CNN guy showed where a little town on the other side of the mountains was in a "shadow" where due to geology the quake waves refracted away, so they didn't even know there had been a quake.

Of course geologists are loving the data; an event like this, when they've got seismometers scattered around, can provide lots of data about the underlying structure, including fault lines that haven't been seen before -- which can produce better knowledge of what to expect in the future.

 

[White Eagle]

I believe I read once that NZ is moving away from Australia. They're on a different level of what lies underneath. I forget what they're called. Platelets? Kuli I'll bet you know what I'm talking about.

 

[justaguy]

I believe I read once that NZ is moving away from Australia. They're on a different level of what lies underneath. I forget what they're called. Platelets? Kuli I'll bet you know what I'm talking about.

New Zealand is basically situated on one giant faultline. It is part of the same system as that which affects the west coast of the US.
The latest quake was 6.3 as compared to the 7.1 they had in september last year. The difference with this one is that it was so shallow (5kms under) and much closer to the city itself (as Kuli already mentioned)

 

[White Eagle]

Yeah, the faultline is what I was trying to say.
That is sure a lot of damage, I'm, watching it right now on the news.
Good luck to you!!!

 

[justaguy]

Yeah, the faultline is what I was trying to say.
That is sure a lot of damage, I'm, watching it right now on the news.
Good luck to you!!!

Thanks. I'm fine personally. It was very much a localised event to Christchurch and surrounds. I live in the North Island.

 

[Kulindahr]

I believe I read once that NZ is moving away from Australia. They're on a different level of what lies underneath. I forget what they're called. Platelets? Kuli I'll bet you know what I'm talking about.

Tectonic plates.

Actually, New Zealand is pretty much tied to Australia. Australia is in the middle of the Australian plate, like an egg yolk in a fried egg, while New Zealand is out on the edge. NZ actually straddles two plates, the Australian and the Pacific, which is what makes things rumble there; the north island, as I recall, sits on a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being shoved down under the Australian, a phenomenon that can yield phenomenal earthquakes (e.g Chile), while the south island sits where the two plates are sliding past each other, which also makes for phenomenal earthquakes (e.g. San Andreas in California). How can you get those two motions at the same time? Because the earth is round, and the plates can't have simple motions like they would if they were pieces of paper on a table; resting on the surface of an oblate spheroid, they're drawn into more complex motions, including not merely directional by the compass but rotational. Just to show how complex that can be, by the latest measurements the north island seems to be heading for the Bering Straight while the southern island is trekking toward Queensland!

Reaching into my section on plate geology... having both subduction (one plate diving under the other) and transform (plates sliding past each other) when the motions aren't uniform along the boundary means the crust can do odd things -- like the north island's odd motion might mean it's trying to rotate -- and in terms of earthquakes, they can come from all sorts of depths, unlike in more uniform situations. It there is rotational motion involved, since the north island is actually a part of a large plate, the effect can be that rocks are strained as rotational force is applied, until it springs back because there's not enough frce to actually break the plate and let it spin (note: no one in the area would want it to do the latter; a plate-breaking quake would be five thousand times as powerful as the recent one. Snap-back quakes can get bad enough... like three thousand times as powerful as this one.

In fact the coast of the Pacific Northwest is overdue for one of that kind.

 

[Ninja108]

New Zealand is basically situated on one giant faultline. It is part of the same system as that which affects the west coast of the US.
The latest quake was 6.3 as compared to the 7.1 they had in september last year. The difference with this one is that it was so shallow (5kms under) and much closer to the city itself (as Kuli already mentioned)

This quake is much like the 1994 Northridge earthquake in LA in 94. It wasn't super strong, but its epicenter was right under parts of the city itself, much like this quake is.

 

[iwantbig]

take a look at the fault lines ( google map ) and you'll see that NZ is on the edge of our techtonic plate , the north island is on our side but the south island is on the other side .
NZ is only there because of the fault line, over here we call them the shaky isles , they are built on volcanic activity

 

[White Eagle]

Kulindahr, our resident everythingologist.

 

[justaguy]

Tectonic plates.

Actually, New Zealand is pretty much tied to Australia.

You're a mine of information Kuli. As an addition, and from what I learnt at school, New Zealand is part of the so-called Ring of Fire of volcanic and earthquake activity which rings the pacific basin.

 

[Lostlover]

What the freak happened to my posts?

I just got a breaking news text message saying that there are 92 confirmed dead in New Zealand. I'm extremely saddened to hear this.

Btw, Justaguy, are Kiwis too proud to take donations? Your brothers and sisters in Australia seem to be too high and mighty for that. Through talking with them, I learned that certain countries only need assistance and not others. I know that in China it is a big insult to tip people. Maybe the Australians have picked this up from their Asian neighbors?

One of my best friends is a Kiwi. I love him with all my heart. He's stuck in London now. I need to write him to ask how he and his family are coping with the tragedy.

 

[Kulindahr]

Kulindahr, our resident everythingologist.

LOL

My advisor in college kept telling me, "You can't study everything!"

I kept trying.... but I'd have to live to be 500 to do a major in every area that interests me.

 

[Kulindahr]

You're a mine of information Kuli. As an addition, and from what I learnt at school, New Zealand is part of the so-called Ring of Fire of volcanic and earthquake activity which rings the pacific basin.

Nice map!

I almost downloaded it to draw the plate lines on... but after a mini JUB meet in PDX today, and driving back through a blizzard (visibility down below 50 feet a few times), I think staying up till 3 a.m. having a good time with maps is not on the program.







edit: I notice the presence there of what a sorority gal, on a geology test (I kid you not) called the "Burgerville Trench".

 

[Dobson73]

What the freak happened to my posts?

I just got a breaking news text message saying that there are 92 confirmed dead in New Zealand. I'm extremely saddened to hear this.

Btw, Justaguy, are Kiwis too proud to take donations? Your brothers and sisters in Australia seem to be too high and mighty for that. Through talking with them, I learned that certain countries only need assistance and not others. I know that in China it is a big insult to tip people. Maybe the Australians have picked this up from their Asian neighbors?

One of my best friends is a Kiwi. I love him with all my heart. He's stuck in London now. I need to write him to ask how he and his family are coping with the tragedy.

I'm an ex Christchurch boy living in Oz and this is really a terrible time for one of the worlds prettiest cities. Kiwi's aren't too proud at all, they've never had a disaster of this magnitude and there is help flooding in from around the world. Right now they'll take all experienced search and rescue hands available but I am sure that they will happily take donations. My company has already started a collection from staff and they'll match us $ for $.

My family are fine but very shaken (excuse the pun) but my nephew has friends and ex-colleagues lost in one of the main buildings, the CTV building.

I was back there at Christmas and experienced a 4.9 quake on Boxing Day which only went on for about 5 seconds but it was terrifying so I can only imagine how people felt on Tuesday.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Christchurch at this time.

 

[tonyboy]

Holy cow my friend.

I hope your nephew finds his friends in good health.
Thank God your immediate family is OK.

I spent a few days in Christchurch on a 10 day trip to the Southern part of NZ..
I it was such a beautiful city... full of great and friendl folks.. I loved the place..

Everything about it was A+ wonderful, from the people to the restuarants to the beautiful homes..
I wish the best to all those folks there..

 

[Lostlover]

My future boss has a summer home, or whatever season it is now, in Nelson, NZ. He has nothing but nice things to say about NZ and the people.

Your country is in my thoughts.

I'm an ex Christchurch boy living in Oz and this is really a terrible time for one of the worlds prettiest cities. Kiwi's aren't too proud at all, they've never had a disaster of this magnitude and there is help flooding in from around the world. Right now they'll take all experienced search and rescue hands available but I am sure that they will happily take donations. My company has already started a collection from staff and they'll match us $ for $.

My family are fine but very shaken (excuse the pun) but my nephew has friends and ex-colleagues lost in one of the main buildings, the CTV building.

I was back there at Christmas and experienced a 4.9 quake on Boxing Day which only went on for about 5 seconds but it was terrifying so I can only imagine how people felt on Tuesday.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Christchurch at this time.

 

[CoolguyAT]

I studied abroad in New Zealand during college and so I guess you can say it is my 2nd home and I am so saddened to see this going in there. While I did not live in Christchurch it is a city that came to be very special to me and I really enjoyed my short time there - I love Auckland and Wellington but I found Christchurch to be the most charming out of NZ's three largest cities.

My thoughts and prayers are with my fellow Kiwis at the moment.

 

[White Eagle]

I studied abroad in New Zealand during college and so I guess you can say it is my 2nd home and I am so saddened to see this going in there. While I did not live in Christchurch it is a city that came to be very special to me and I really enjoyed my short time there - I love Auckland and Wellington but I found Christchurch to be the most charming out of NZ's three largest cities.

My thoughts and prayers are with my fellow Kiwis at the moment.

My thoughts and prayers also. I've never been there but I have fond memories of people from NZ and OZ. While in the Navy in Hong Kong I spent about a week drinking with some aussie sailors, and while in Hawaii I met two New Zealanders who, let me say, gave me a good time.
I hope all find their friends and families.

 

[CoolguyAT]

^ Yes - Kiwis (New Zealanders) are very good people and to this day I still say they have some of the sexiest men in the world there - but this certainly isn't the appropriate topic to go into details about that.