New Zealand Earthquake

With the media firestorm surrounding Trump’s controversial election, little attention has been given to other international events. On November 14th, a large earthquake ravaged New Zealand. The 7.8 magnitude tremor caused significant damage, and the recurring aftershocks are only worsening the effects of the first blow.

While the earthquake is over, many people are still in jeopardy. In fact, thousands are stranded in a town near the quake’s epicenter. A local state of emergency has been declared in the Canterbury region of the country, which is home to the hardest-hit areas. Tourists and locals are being airlifted by helicopters from cut-off communities in the Hurunui and Kaikoura districts. Two ships, the HMNZS Canterbury and the HMNZS Wellington, have also been deployed along the shores of Canterbury to assist.

The initial earthquake killed two people when it struck the island nation early Monday. The citizens of New Zealand, however, are not out of the woods yet. Powerful aftershocks have been regularly plaguing the country since the earthquake’s occurrence. These aftershocks have causes even more damage, have disrupted rescue operations, and have put people in even more danger. Aftershocks are expected to keep occurring regularly for some time.

New Zealand has received help with evacuations from the United States as well as from China. Interestingly, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that he missed a call from United States President-Elect Donald Trump during the quake’s chaotic aftermath.

Since the quake, there have been between 80,000 and 100,000 landslides, and many roads have become blocked. New Zealand is working frantically to restore power, access, and supply water to areas in need. To make the situation worse, heavy rain on Tuesday has only caused more damage with power outages and flooding.

Despite all of these unfortunate events that have plagued New Zealand for the past few days, the death toll has miraculously remained low. Nevertheless, New Zealand is still struggling to save people from the harmful effects of this earthquake, and the damages will undoubtedly cost the country large sums of money. Thanks to the conscientious work of New Zealand and the assistance of other nations, however, New Zealand is still managing in this difficult time.

Source:

Berlinger, Joshua. “Thousands stranded in New Zealand after earthquakes.”

CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/14/asia/new-zealand-earthquake/. Accessed 15 November 2016.