Deadly quake strikes New Zealand
(CNN) — A 6.3-magnitude earthquake ripped through Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday afternoon, causing multiple fatalities as it toppled buildings onto buses, buckled streets and damaged cathedrals, authorities said.
New Zealand Police announced a large-scale evacuation of the central city was under way on the agency’s website. According to the news release, the earthquake killed an undetermined number of people at various locations around the city, including passengers on two buses crushed by buildings that had fallen on them.
Laura Campbell told CNN she was at work at the bottom of a six-story building when the earthquake struck. She described seeing “windows blowing out, bricks falling down, people screaming, the whole nine yards.”
“It was bloody serious,” said Campbell, who was trying to walk home. “I’m worried about what I’m going to find down the road.”
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck just before 1 p.m. Tuesday (7 p.m. Monday ET), and a 5.6-magnitude aftershock struck about 15 minutes later.