Many buildings had already been weakened from the previous earthquake and aftershocks.
Although smaller in magnitude than the 2010 earthquake, the Febuary 2011 event was more damaging and deadly for a number of reasons including - the epicentre was closer to Christchurch, and shallower just 5 kilometres underground compared to 10 km and the epicentre 48 km away in the September 2010 earthquake. The February 2011 earthquake or aftershock occurred on a weekday during the lunchtime period when the CBD was very busy. The peak ground accearation (PGA) was extremely high, and with simultaneous vertical and horizontal ground movement it was "almost impossible" for buildings to survive intact.
Size: 2831px × 4256px
Location: Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
Photo credit: © Adrian Page / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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