Christchurch rattled by three more tremors on quake anniversary date

September 4, 2011 – Christchurch, NZ – Three moderate earthquakes shook Christchurch on Sunday, exactly one year after a devastating magnitude-7.1 shake began a series of tremors that wrecked the city centre and thousands of homes. The tremors, ranging in magnitude from 3.3 to 4.4, all centered 20km west of the city at depths of 7-9km, came as Prime Minister John Key flew to the South Island city to show solidarity with residents who have suffered more than 8 000 quakes in the last 12 months. Key will host his weekly cabinet meeting, usually held in the capital, Wellington, in Christchurch on Monday. Local member of parliament Gerry Brownlee, who has been designated the government’s minister in charge of earthquake recovery, said, “The 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck at 04:35 on September 4 was not only the largest quake to strike this country near a major population in almost 80 years, it also kicked off a series of seismic events the likes of which hasn’t been seen anywhere else in the world.” Nobody died in the September 4 quake but 181 people lost their lives in a shallower, more destructive, magnitude-6.3 quake on February 22. The commercial centre of New Zealand’s second largest city is still closed after 900 buildings were destroyed or damaged beyond repair and thousands of homes in the city and its surrounds rendered uninhabitable. –News 24