6.3 magnitude quake in New Zealand kills at least 65

Earthquake hits Christchurch, toppling structures, burying, trapping unknown number of people underneath rubble; Foreign Ministry officials concerned for the life of Israeli living in city.

Christchurch Earthquake 311 (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Christchurch Earthquake 311
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck one of New Zealand's biggest cities Tuesday at the height of a busy workday, toppling tall buildings and churches, crushing buses and killing at least 65 people in one of the country's worst natural disasters.
It was the second major quake to hit Christchurch, a city of 350,000, in five months, though the temblor caused far more destruction than a more powerful September quake that struck before dawn on a weekend.
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Foreign Ministry officials in Israel said there was concern for the life of an Israeli who resided in the city and said it was attempting to make contact with around 150 to 200 other Israelis in the area.
The spire of Christchurch's well-known stone cathedral toppled into a central square, while video footage showed multistory buildings collapsed in on themselves, and others with walls that had fallen into streets strewn with bricks and shattered concrete.
Sidewalks and roads were cracked and split, while thousands of dazed, screaming and crying residents wandered through the streets as sirens blared. Groups of people helped victims clutching bleedings wounds, and others were carried to private vehicles in makeshift stretchers fashioned from rugs or bits of debris.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency and ordered people to evacuate the city center. Troops were deployed to help people get out and to throw up a security cordon around the stricken area, said Deputy Prime Minister Bill English.
The airport was closed, and Christchurch Hospital was briefly evacuated before it was deemed safe and patients were returned. Power and telephone lines were knocked out, and pipes burst, flooding the streets with water. Some cars parked on the street were buried under rubble.
Some people were stuck in office towers and firefighters climbed extension ladders to pluck people trapped on roofs to safety. A crane lifted a team of rescuers on a platform to one group of survivors in a high-rise. Plumes of gray smoke drifted into the air at several points around the city from fires burning in the rubble.
Key held an emergency Cabinet meeting then rushed to the stricken city to observe the scene.
He said eight or nine buildings had collapsed, and that officials were working as fast as they can to free an unknown number of people who were trapped.
New Zealand police said in a statement that reports of fatalities included that two buses had been crushed by falling buildings.
The US Geological Survey said the temblor was centered 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the city at a depth of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). Two large aftershocks — one magnitude 5.6 and another 5.5 — hit the city within two hours, and officials warned people to stay away from damaged buildings because of the danger of further collapses.
A search and rescue team was being flown in from Australia to help in the recovery, and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she had offered Key any other support he requested.

"Its effect depends on how close it is, and ground shaking will be severe within 10 to 20 kilometers of the rupture," he said.