LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – The death toll on today’s New Zealand earthquake in Christchurch is rising. Local news reports that the three New Zealand earthquakes in the last twenty-four hours are  related to the 7.1 earthquake of September 2010. While damage assessments and number of fatalities are still be counted, here is the latest news as of 7 PM PST.

Christchurch, close to the epicenter of today’s earthquake, was significantly damaged. The Provincial Chambers building gave way, collapsing on persons trapped inside. The New Zealand Hard reports the face of the Sumner cliff collapsed, sending boulders onto vehicles. Local supermarkets were closed. Sections south of Christchurch are reportedly worse hit. Chasms caused by liquefaction are being spotted.

After an initial quake, the local emergency telephone call number of 111 suffered any outage. TV3 news reported that upwards of two hundred people were trapped inside one local building – the Pyne Gould Guinness building.

New Zealand Earthquake Maps Today
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Auckland Airport spokesman Richard Llewellyn has halted flights departing New Zealand. Part of the issue is that the national control center is located in Christchurch. As of this evening “they are checking to make sure it is all okay, and until then the airways system has been closed.”

“For the moment planes are landing but no planes are departing,” he told NZPA.

On Radio New Zealand tonight, University of Canterbury Earth Sciences Professor John Townend said “This earthquake struck much closer to the city so what we have seen today is a much closer and shallower shake. With many buildings weakened we are seeing much more damage.”

Fairfax Media is also reporting that 150 are trapped inside the Pyne Gould Business building. An airport tower has collapsed locally, the Lyttelton tunnel is shut down. GNS duty seismologist Bill Fry told the news site that today’s quake, because of its shallow depth, had a far greater impact on the region than last year’s earthquake on September 4.

Prime Minister John Key issued the following statement to news tonight; “My heart and thoughts and prayers would go to those families. I think we all knew that we were very lucky and blessed when the first earthquake took place that it didn’t claim any lives.” Key added that “If it’s the case that people have lost their lives in this earthquake then I think all New Zealanders would mourn with a heavy heart.”

Telecom reportedly says its phone networks are damaged. In its statement, its says tonight “Some network sites have been badly damaged and are not working, and others are operating on battery backup power.”

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker still has no update on the death toll, while local news has reported spotting fatalities being removed from debris.”I’m deeply, deeply concerned about lives,” Parker told Radio New Zealand today.

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Another earthquake has struck New Zealand. A 5.6 earthquake today on the South Island of New Zealand marked the third earthquake to strike the region within the last twenty-four hours. Previously a 6.4 magnitude quake struck followed by a 5.1 earthquake.

On Monday shortly before 11 pm local time, a powerful 6.4 earthquake struck north of New Zealand. With a significant depth of over three hundred feet below the earth’s surface. the 6.4 quake struck roughly one thousand miles north east of Wellington, New Zealand.

Then shortly before 1 pm local time on Tuesday, another quake struck. This time hte quake was near the earth’s surface and closer to New Zealand. A 6.3 earthquake registered only three miles below the earth’s surface and close to Christchurch. It was roughly 190 miles from Wellington and Dunedin, and under hundred fifty miles from Westport.

Less than ten minutes later, another quake struck registering a 5.6 magnitude. It was located in virtually the same location, four miles below the earth’s surface. While no reports of injury have been given, it was five miles east of Christchurch, 140 miles south of Westport and under 195 miles from Wellington and Dunedin.

New Zealand Earthquake Maps Today
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Unlike other earthquake typical in the region, this quake struck in a relatively populated region west of highway 73 and highway 1, north of Lake Ellesmere. It appears closest to the towns of Clifton and Summer, south of Redcliffs and Southshore, and just east of Heathcote Valley and Mount Pleasant.

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ENSENADA (LALATE) – Two earthquakes hit Mexico this morning. Today’s earthquakes (terremotos) are the latest in a series of temblors to strike Baja California this year. In October, several temblors or terremotos struck between La Paz and Los Mochis registering a 5.7 and 5.8 magnitude. Today’s quakes were of lesser magnitude.

First, shortly before 2:30 AM PST, a 3.2 earthquake struck roughly thirty miles east of Ensenada in Baja California. The quake was sixty-six miles south of Tijuana. It registered, however, no depth, striking close to the earth’s surface. The quake was centered east of Ensenada near Rancho Rosa de Castilla and Rancho El Bachicha. It was just east of El Baron and La Cruz Minera. Located north of Mexico Highway 3, it was centered in the hills east of Baron and directly north of the town of San Salvador.

Ensenada Earthquake Maps
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Second, four hours later at 6:30 AM PST, a 3.1 earthquake struck again in Baja California, now to the east. This time it was roughly 100 miles south of Tijuana, thirteen miles from Guadalupe Victoria. It registered eight miles below the earth’s surface.

Northern Mexico is often a hot bed of earthquake activity, such earthquakes usually striking, however, in the Mexicali region.

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – An earthquake has struck India today near Imphal, Manipur. The massive earthquake today registered 6.4 and struck shortly before 8:30 PM local time. There are no reports of significant aftershocks as of Friday morning Pacific Standard Time.

Today’s India earthquake was not near the earth’s surface and did not strike in a densely populate region. Rather the quake struck fifty miles east of Imphal, Manipur region, and eighty miles south of Kohima, Nagaland. It was centered roughly four hundred miles east of Calcutta (West Bengal) and a thousand miles east of New Delhi.

The quake was also significantly below the earth’s surface at fifty-five miles.

No reports of injuries have been given. The quake’s center appeared to be north of the Alaungdaq Kathapa National Park, an expansive area between Madalay to the east and Mathiura Union to the west. The quake was closest to NH39 north of Moreh.

In related news, a 4.6 earthquake struck Sterling, Alaska; it followed a 4.8 earthquake in Adak earlier.

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MAUI (LALATE) – A Maui earthquake (maps below) Tuesday evening struck near Wailuku. The Maui earthquake did not result in any major reported damage indicates local news today. The earthquake struck at 6:34 PM local time and was 10 miles southwest of Wailea, 30 miles southwest of Wailuku, 30 miles southeast of Lanai City, and 45 miles west of Hana. The earthquake was of nominal depth, only 11 miles below the earth’s surface. It registered 4.7 magnitude.

The earthquake was followed by another quake registering 3.3 magnitude. It was centered 16 miles west of Hawi, 18 miles west of Kapaau, and 19 miles northwest of Puako. It reported nominal depth as well.

Maui Earthquake Maps
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Underway at the time was the EA Sports Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. Officials for the Lahaina Civic Center reported no damage. The Kentucky vs Washington game had six minutes left in play at the time. Kentucky coach John Calipari was surprised to learn that an earthquake had hit, calling “aw, nothing”. Other players joked the basket had been moving, not just then, but all night.

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