Port Angeles man experiences powerful New Zealand earthquake

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A 23-year-old Port Angeles man who now lives in New Zealand woke early this morning to the powerful earthquake that struck the country’s South Island, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure and killing at least two people.

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck just after midnight local time in a mostly rural area that’s dotted with small towns. Near the epicenter, it opened up snaking fissures in roads and triggered landslides.

The quake woke Reggie Burke, who graduated from Port Angeles High School in 2012, and his roommates in their Christchurch home. When they exited the building, they could see the street move up and down in waves.

“You could look into the forest and the trees were going up and down,” Burke said in an interview Sunday.

Burke works for a construction company in Christchurch. He earned a degree in welding from Peninsula College before moving to New Zealand on a work visa.

The quake was centered 57 miles northeast of Christchurch and was 23 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In Christchurch, Burke didn’t see much damage, other than things falling off shelves and breaking, though he said there was more extensive damage up north. The building he’s working on didn’t see any damage, but might have shifted, he said.

After the earthquake hit, Burke felt aftershocks every few minutes for about two hours, some feeling as strong as the initial earthquake.

“We thought it was over, so we all went back to bed,” he said. “Probably 10 to 15 minutes later an aftershock hit and they started hitting every 10 minutes.

“It was crazy. You couldn’t even sleep.”’

The initial earthquake lasted for about three minutes, he said, calling it exciting.

“It was long as hell,” he said. “I couldn’t even believe it.”

Traffic was jammed in the morning as a tsunami warning warned people to go inland.

Burke heard of a few 6.6-foot-tall waves crashing against the shore with warnings there could be larger waves coming.

New Zealand, with a population of 4.7 million, sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes are common.

Burke said that while he was “freaking out” during the earthquake, the locals were used to frequent powerful earthquakes.

Locals told Burke it had been about five years since the last major earthquake.

For locals, today’s quake brought back memories of the magnitude-6.3 earthquake that struck Christchurch in 2011, destroying much of the downtown area and killing 185 people. That quake was one of New Zealand’s worst disasters, causing an estimated $25 billion in damage.

However, although today’s quake was stronger, its epicenter was deeper and much farther from major urban areas. Location, depth and other factors beyond magnitude all contribute to the destructive power of an earthquake.

Authorities in Wellington were urging people who work in the city’s central business district to stay home today. Officials said some large buildings were showing signs of structural stress, and the quake would likely have caused a mess in some buildings. The city’s suburban rail network was shut while crews checked tracks, bridges and tunnels.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management reported that a tsunami wave struck at about 1:50 a.m. and warned residents living in low-lying areas anywhere along the country’s east coast to move to higher ground.

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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.