6.3 Quake Hits New Zealand

It looks like the earthquake story is coming back strong - a trend I have noticed over the past week or two. Just take a look at the map (there are too many to list right now):

Seismic Monitor

And now this quake in New Zealand:

New Zealand earthquake magnitude 6.3 hits Christchurch

New Zealand earthquake: a major quake hit New Zeland's second largest city Tuesday, local time. Initial reports indicate collapsed buildings and possible casualties from the New Zealand earthquake.

For the second time in five months, New Zealand's south island city of Christchurch was rocked by a major earthquake on Tuesday afternoon local time.

Initial reports from Reuters news agency indicated that there were no reports of casualties, from the magnitude 6.3 temblor.

But the New Zealand Herald is reporting casualties and major damage to downtown buildings, including the Christchurch Cathedral.

This one appears to have caused major damage:

One blog entry says New Zealand's TV3 is reporting the Pyne Gould financial services building has collapsed. Another, unsubstantiated report claims that the cathedral has collapsed.The New Zealand Press Association reported that the TVNZ building in Christchurch had collapsed.

And there's an entry that a facade of a building in downtown Christchurch has collapsed on a bus, injuring passengers. NZTV is reporting at least one fatality.

We can only hope and pray that the damage won't be as significant as the early reports are stating. The various news channels have picked up the story and are sure to provide updates.