Christchurch Earthquake Overshadows Xmas Celebrations

A series of strong aftershocks which rocked Christchurch Friday afternoon have left Christchurch residents with pre-Christmas jitters.

The were a total of 11 tremors between 1:58 p.m. and 5:08 p.m. local time, on Dec. 23, four of which measured of 5 on the Richter scale, according to the State run GNS Science. The largest two were 5.8- and 6.0-magnitute. The epicenter were mostly a few kilometers offshore from Brighton Beach.

The quakes come after a long period of relative seismic quiet.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker reflected on the mental anguish of Cantabrians who were only just beginning to witness the reconstruction of the city following the deadly February quake.

“Psychologically this is a tough one. People are outside buildings on streets weeping, I’m told. You can just sense the sense of `not again, how much longer?” he told Newstalk ZB.

Thousands of shocks have hit the region since the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in September last year and the disastrous 6.3 magnitude earthquake in February this year in which 182 people died.

According to Civil Defence, the damage and liquefaction is not as serious as it was in February and while people are being advised to follow standard precautions they were not declaring a state of emergency.

“It is most likely that the current earthquakes were triggered by stress readjustment driven by the February and June 2011 earthquakes,” says an update on the quake on GNS Science’s website.

“The current sequence is not unexpected, although their timing and location are very unfortunate,” it added.

GNS expects the tremors to diminish over the next week.

Approximately 60 people have been injured and some buildings have been damaged, reported stuff.co.nz.