Damage and power blackouts in Wellington after quake of magnitude 6.9 is recorded off coast of North Island

Monday, July 22, 2013

An empty shipping container sits in the harbour where the land fell into the sea at the Port Wellington Container terminal caused by yesterdays earthquake on July 22, 2013. (AFP)

The New World supermarket in Blenheim, on New Zealand's south island, is closed after the earthquake. Photo: Emma Allen/Fairfax NZ

Source: Supplied

BNZ building on Wellington's waterfront.

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Earthquake rattles New Zealand capital

Agencies in Wellington and Canberra
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 21 July 2013 02.55 EDT

Link to video: Earthquake hits New Zealand Capital The New Zealand capital, Wellington, was rattled by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Sunday that broke water mains, smashed windows and downed power lines.
Wellington police Inspector Marty Parker said there had been minor structural damage and parts of the city were left without power but there were no reports of injury and no tsunami.
The US Geological Survey said the quake happened under the Cook Strait 35 miles (57km) south-west of Wellington and six miles (10km) beneath the surface. The strait separates the main North and South Islands of New Zealand.
The quake could be felt hundreds of miles away in the centre of the North Island.
Parker said the quake struck near nightfall. A more complete picture of the damage would emerge in the morning, he said.
The Reuters news agency said the quake knocked items off shelves, shattered some windows and brought trains in Wellington to a halt. It was the largest of a series of tremors that had shaken the region in the past few days.
New Zealand is part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire" that has regular seismic activity. A severe earthquake in the city of Christchurch on the South Island in 2011 killed 185 people and destroyed much of the city's downtown.

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