We have just received word that a 7.0 earthquake has struck Christchurch, on the South Island of New Zealand. The quake hit at 4:35 AM New Zealand time. Strong aftershocks have been reported, including one measuring at a 5.3 magnitude.
According to the BBC:
The epicenter was 55km (35 miles) north-west of Christchurch, at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles)….Police said there had been widespread damage to buildings and roads as well as power cuts. Two men were seriously injured by falling masonry and glass. A state of emergency was later declared in Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city with a 386,000 population. New Zealand lies at the southern end of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, and above an area of the Earth’s crust where the Pacific Plate converges with the Indo-Australian Plate. The country experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which only around 20 have a magnitude in excess of 5.0.
This area of NZ may be familiar to many NarniaFans as less then an hour and a half away from Christchurch was where the battle scenes and Aslan’s camp were filmed for The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. We will have more on this story as it progresses. In the meantime, Friends of Narnia, keep the people of Christchurch, New Zealand in your thoughts and prayers.