MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“About 10,000 houses in Christchurch will have to be demolished because of damage from last month’s earthquake and parts of the city will have to be abandoned altogether, New Zealand’s prime minister has said.

The magnitude 6.3 quake hit close to the surface within three miles (5km) of central Christchurch on 22 February. It shattered homes, heritage buildings and office blocks, and caused 166 confirmed deaths. Officials say the toll is expected to rise to more than 200 as rescuers continue to search for bodies trapped in the rubble.

Earthquakes can cause sections of earth to liquefy and push up to the surface as watery silt. In Christchurch, 260,000 tonnes of silt have already been scraped away.

‘There are some parts of Christchurch that can’t be rebuilt on,’ the prime minister, John Key, told reporters. ‘The liquefaction damage from the … earthquake is so great and the land damage … is so significant we can’t remediate it.'”  Read more.

“According the the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a preliminary magnitude 4.7 hit 4 miles northeast of Greenbrier just after 11:00 p.m.

It was felt across the state as well as into Missouri and Mississippi. Two aftershocks where reported afterwards, a 3.8 magnitude then a 3.6 magnitude.

So far, there have been no reports of damage or injuries.”  Read more.

“After four days of continues earthquake activity it appears that Krísuvík volcano has stepped up it’s activity by a order of magnitude. Since midnight there have been over 400 earthquakes in Krísuvík volcano. The activity is continuing when this is written and does not show any signs of slowing down at this moment. Geologist in Iceland are expecting more earthquakes in this area over the next hours and even earthquakes that are larger then ML3.0 in size.”  Read more.

Engineers believe around a third of the buildings in the business district of Christchurch damaged by this week’s earthquake will have to be pulled down and rebuilt.  Read more.

The Mail has brought together some of the most incredible pictures from what is one of the worst natural disasters in New Zealand’s history. See photos here.

Multiple fatalities have been reported after a strong, 6.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday, seriously injuring people and damaging buildings throughout the city.  Read more.

An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook up residents at the entrance to the Suez Canal early Monday morning, 48 hours before two Iranian ships, a frigate and a supply vessel, are expected to enter the canal.  Read more.