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This page aims to collect resources around recent news events in one place for you to access. Here you'll find a range of online articles, websites, items from our collection and other resources that are useful background information for current events. (Some articles may come from our premium online resources - you'll need to login with your library card details to access these). If you have feedback about this page, we'd love to hear it! You can email us with any feedback.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit Christchurch on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 12:51 pm (NZST).
At 12.51pm, Tuesday 22nd February 2011, Christchurch was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude. This earthquake has caused widespread damage throughout the city, and has also caused many fatalities. GNS Science has declared this earthquake an aftershock due to "its relationship to the ongoing activity since September last year". Although this quake was smaller in magnitude, its shallow focal depth (5km) meant that the ground shaking was far more intense, causing a lot more damage than September's magnitude 7.1.
Below are links to several live update websites and relevant GNS Science information, as well as Civil Defence information.
Our thoughts go out to the people of Christchurch.
For information:
- Canterbury Quake Live
Gives specific information about aftershocks when they occur, e.g. amount of energy released and exact location. - Latest information on aftershocks at Geonet.org.nz
- Canterburyearthquake.org.nz
Managed by Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council. This site gives comprehensive information about what's happening in Christchurch now and how the city is responding to the aftermath of the earthquake. (Its intended audience is people living in Christchurch, but there's a wealth of information here.) - Up to date information at Radio New Zealand News
- TVNZ live updates: Latest Christchurch earthquake news
- Stuff.co.nz: Christchurch quake: latest info
- Latest GNS media releases: Christchurch badly damaged by magnitude 6.3 earthquake
- Click here for shaking maps
Emergency, civil defence and other relevant sites:
- Wellington Emergency Management
- Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management
- Get Ready Get Thru
- Earth Quake Commission
- Christchurch City Libraries Blog
From our Collection:
- DVD: Aftershock: Would you survive? (see also: Aftershock website)
- How can I help my community in a disaster? A guide to emergency volunteerism in Wellington
- Our Heritage page on Earthquakes
