New Zealand: Two earthquakes cut power and leave hundreds stranded in Wellington
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- A magnitude-6.5 temblor struck just after 2:30 p.m. local time
- Experienced at least six aftershocks were 5.0 magnitude or stronger
- Bridge severely damaged on main highway near South Island town Seddon
- No serious injuries have been reported
- Local authorities did not issue tsunami warnings after today's quakes
By Jill Reilly
PUBLISHED: 04:47 EST, 16 August 2013 | UPDATED: 08:12 EST, 16 August 2013
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Two powerful earthquakes shook central New Zealand this morning, damaging homes and roads and sending office workers scrambling for cover in the capital Wellington.
A magnitude-6.5 quake struck just after 2:30 p.m. near the small South Island town of Seddon, and at least six aftershocks were 5.0 magnitude or stronger.
No serious injuries were reported although the power was cut and hundreds of people were lefr stranded.
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Destruction: Earthquake damage to a property in the small South Island town of Seddon after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit in the upper South Island of New Zealand
Powerful: The strong earthquake shook central New Zealand, damaging homes, destroying a bridge and sending office workers scrambling for cover in the capital
Damage It sent panicked Wellington workers and residents into the streets, but caused little major damage just weeks after a similar size quake shook the harbourside city
Collapse: Workmen clear rubble from a road after the side of a hill collapsed
Several homes near the epicentre were severely damaged, with chimneys collapsing and roofs caving in, said police spokeswoman Barbara Dunn.
She said a bridge was severely damaged on the main highway near Seddon, and that rocks and debris had fallen onto the road. Police closed a section of the highway.
Some buildings in Wellington, the capital, were evacuated, and items were knocked off shelves in places.
Tremors: Food and bottles lie scattered on the floor of a shop after they fell out of a fridge during an tremors
Shattered: Broken glass lies scattered on a shop front after an earthquake in the town of Seddon
Two powerful earthquakes shook central New Zealand this morning, damaging homes and roads and sending office workers scrambling for cover in the capital
Police said a number of people were freed from Wellington elevators that stopped working. The initial temblor also forced the nation's stock exchange to close for more than an hour.
Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown said there was no major damage to the city's infrastructure or office buildings. She said highways had become clogged as people left the city.
'We think this is business as usual,' she said, 'but it is going to take a little while for people to get home tonight.'
Difficult: Commuters wait for alternative transport after all train services were cancelled following a magnitude 6.2 earthquake
Delays: Thousands of workers walk home from the central business district of Wellington as the trains stop working
Community: Residents gather at a welfare base set up at Seddon school
Desertion: Motorists face gridlock on Wellington roads as people flee the city
Safety: A worker marks an existing crack in the Wellington waterfront which increased in size
Damage: The roof of a church. A quake of similar strength in the same area three weeks ago broke water mains, smashed windows and downed power lines
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicentre of the initial temblor was 94 kilometers (58 miles) west of Wellington at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).
A quake of similar strength in the same area three weeks ago broke water mains, smashed windows and downed power lines.
Caroline Little, a seismologist with New Zealand quake monitoring agency GeoNet, said the series of quakes since July had followed an unusual pattern.
'Normally you get a big quake and then the aftershocks get smaller in magnitude,' she said.
Little said the July quake was on a fault line near Seddon that had not previously been mapped.
She said it was too early to determine if today's quakes were on that same fault.
A different fault line runs through Wellington, and many in the city fear an earthquake along that fault could result in a major disaster.
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 in 2011 killed 185 people and destroyed much of the city's downtown.
Local authorities issued no tsunami warnings after today's quakes.
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