Reuters reports there are normally more than 14,000 earthquakes a year in New Zealand, of which ~20 are over 5.0 in magnitude. The country sits between the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates where there has been a great deal of activity in recent months--most notably on September 4 when a 7.1-magnitude quake struck. Now a 6.3 magnitude quake shook Christchurch just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a 5.6-magnitude aftershock. Our thoughts are with the residents there as a large-scale evacuation is now under way. Details at CNN...
