Massive Quake Strikes New Zealand

State of emergency declared after the worst earthquake in decades his New Zealand, with magnitude of 7.1 strikes 19 miles west of Ch. Church. Leaving New Zealanders shaken but alive.

As New Zealanders continued to survey the damage caused by the country’s worst earthquake in almost 80 years, residents and leaders expressed amazement that a Saturday morning temblor that toppled historic buildings and destroyed some 20 percent of homes hadn’t resulted in loss of life.

“Everyone is of course a bit shaken, but for the most part is okay,” reported Rabbi Mendel Goldstein, the Ch. Church-based director of Chabad-Lubavitch of New Zealand. “There’s one serious injury, but miraculously, no fatalities.”

The massive 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck 30 km. west of New Zealand’s second-largest city at 4:35 a.m., hurling citizens from their beds and toppling brick-and-mortar homes. But because of the hour, few people were in the streets.

Continued at Chabad.org – Goldstein, who serves a Jewish…