– Galleries: Earthquake in Christchurch, NZ (Daily Telegraph):
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Murray and Kelly James look at their destroyed house in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Tuesday’s magnitude-6.3 temblor collapsed buildings, caused extensive other damage and killed dozens of people in the city. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
– Christchurch earthquake death toll rises with hundreds still missing (The Guardian):
Curfew and cordon thrown around rescue zone in centre of New Zealand city, where 75 are confirmed dead and 300 missing
– Supposedly quake-proof buildings collapsed (Independent):
Perched on the border of two continental plates, New Zealand’s position in the Pacific Ring of Fire is precisely what gives the country much of its astonishing natural beauty. Its mountains, volcanoes and geothermal springs are all the product of intense tectonic activity. But geological beauty can be a double-edged sword.
Technically any new structure built in New Zealand has to be able to withstand intense quakes but footage has shown that, although older buildings in Christchurch seem to have been hit the hardest, plenty of newer ones that should have been able to survive a 6.3 quake have also collapsed.