As most of you heard by now

wombat52 · Dec 23, 2011

Being from the land down under & so close to NZ most of you guys & gals would have heard by now yet another massive earthquake hit the south island of NZ last night 5.8 and further damage from a earlier earthquake earlier this year .
well a call from family in australia a few minutes ago it looks like the folks of christchurch will be having a pleek christmas this year the death toll is higher than what the media is saying on fox nbc etc & the Australian army is dispatching a several flight with food & clothing for our neighbour in NZ .
LETS all spare a moment thoughts for these folks as we all sit down with our familys or friends in my case and give a moment thoughts for the people of new zealand & more so christchurch NZ

davekc · Dec 23, 2011

As of five minutes ago, Fox is reporting no damage and no one killed? I guess check back.

beachbum · Dec 23, 2011

5.8 is not massive, a 7 is

copdsux · Dec 23, 2011

beachbum said:
5.8 is not massive, a 7 is

If it's your neighborhood, it is truly massive. That comment is insensitive, at best.

mjmsprt40 · Dec 23, 2011

A 5.8 may be massive enough on already weakened buildings. They had a stronger quake earlier this year, so this one might not have to be very strong to break things and kill people.

Monty · Dec 23, 2011

An initial 5.8-magnitude earthquake was centered 12 miles northeast of the city at a very shallow depth of 5 miles, according to New Zealand's civil defense. It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, one of a 5.3 magnitude but no tsunami warning was issued.

Christchurch, New Zealand, rocked by series of earthquakes, but no casualties - CSMonitor.com

mjmsprt40 · Dec 23, 2011

Mostly, this one seems to have disrupted last-minute shopping. It was strong enough to cause mandatory evacuations and to break stuff that fell from cupboards, and to have caused some minor injuries. No deaths recorded, according to AP wires.

layoutshooter · Dec 23, 2011

Sure hope all is well. That area of the world is a very shaky place to live to be sure.

beachbum · Dec 24, 2011

I grew up in SolCal, a 5.8 is nothing unless you never was in one. Most of us just go about our business. I have been thru every major earthquake in SolCal from 1954 (born) till I left SolCal six years ago for Texas.

As for weakened buildings, they would have been condemned if there not safe to enter.