New Zealand struck by major quake

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A state of emergency was declared Saturday after Christchurch, the biggest city on New Zealand's South Island, was extensively damaged by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut power, water and sewage connections.

Only two serious injuries were reported. Officials said mass casualties were avoided because the quake struck at 4:35 a.m. local time, when most people were asleep.

Panicked residents in their pajamas ran into the streets after the quake, residents said. One hotel guest, Sue Foley, told Television New Zealand that she could not stand and was thrown back on the bed in her eighth-floor room after being awakened by the shaking.

There were reports of some people trapped in damaged buildings — at least 10 people were rescued — and a few looters broke into some damaged shops in the city of 400,000, authorities said.

Chimneys and walls had fallen from older buildings, roads had been blocked, traffic lights were out and power, gas and water supplies were disrupted, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said.

Christchurch resident Angela Morgan said, "The fronts of at least five buildings in the central city have collapsed, and rubble is strewn across many roads."

Mark O'Connell, who lives in suburban Christchurch, said his house was full of smashed glass, food tossed from shelves, with sets of drawers, TVs and computers tipped over.

"We were thrown from wall to wall as we tried to escape down the stairs to get to safety," he said.

The quake, which hit 19 miles west of Christchurch according to the state geological agency GNS Science, shook a wide area. No tsunami alert was issued.

Twelve sizable aftershocks, ranging from magnitude-3.9 to 5.2, were recorded after the initial jolt, GNS Science reported on its website.

Power was cut to most of Christchurch and the entire Canterbury province, where more than 550,000 people live in mainly rural areas.

GNS Science initially reported the quake as magnitude-7.4, but later downgraded it after re-examining quake records. The U.S. Geological Survey, in America, measured the quake at 7.0.

Army troops were on standby to assist, Minister of Civil Defense John Carter said, as the state of civil emergency was declared.

"I think we've been extremely lucky as a nation that there's been no fatalities," Carter said, though he added that infrastructure damage was major.

Christchurch Hospital said it had treated two men with serious injuries and a number of people with minor injuries.

One man was hit by a falling chimney and was in serious condition in intensive care, while a second was seriously cut by glass, hospital spokeswoman Michele Hider said.

Police officers cordoned off some streets where rubble was strewn about. Video showed parked cars crushed by heaps of fallen bricks, and buckled roads.

"There is considerable damage in the central city, and we've also had reports of looting, just shop windows broken and easy picking of displays," Police Inspector Mike Coleman told New Zealand's National Radio.

Police Inspector Al Stewart told the radio that some people had been arrested for looting. Prime Minister John Key, Carter and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee were to fly to Christchurch to inspect damage and review the situation, officials said.

Key said his sister, who lives in Christchurch, messaged him that "they had had an enormous earthquake and it had been terrifying ... that it went on for so long and was so violent they were getting knocked off their feet."

Civil-defense agency spokesman David Millar said at least six bridges in the region had been seriously damaged, while the historic Empire hotel in the port town of Lyttelton was "very unstable" and in danger of collapse

KiwiRail spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said 13 mostly freight trains had been halted on South Island lines, with some damage confirmed to rail lines north of Christchurch. Christchurch International Airport was closed as experts checked runways and terminal buildings, a spokesman said.

New Zealand sits above an area of the Earth's crust where two tectonic plates collide. The country records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, but only about 150 are felt by residents. Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.

New Zealand's last major earthquake was a magnitude-7.8 in South Island's Fiordland region on July 16, 2009, a temblor that moved the southern tip of the country 12 inches closer to Australia, seismologist Ken Gledhill said at the time.

Material from Deutsche Presse-Agentur is included

in this report.