New Zealand : A major earthquake hits the second biggest city Christchurch
A woman makes her way over debris from a quake-damaged building in Christchurch, New Zealand. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck 20 miles west of Christchurch early Saturday, triggering no immediate reports of casualties but causing widespread damage, authorities said. (Carys Monteath/the Press) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6823Q420100903 By Gyles Beckford Fri Sep 3, 2010 7:42pm EDT WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A major earthquake hit New Zealand's second biggest city Christchurch early on Saturday, bringing down power lines, ripping up roads and wrecking building facades, but authorities reported no deaths. Authorities declared a formal civil defense state of emergency to coordinate recovery operations in the city, which has a population of about 350,000 people, after facades collapsed into streets, crushing cars and blocking roads. Two men suffered serious injuries and police closed off the central business district. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 and a depth