New Zealand was hit by a massive earthquake measuring 7.8 on the richter scale early on Monday. The quake, with its epicentre about 91-km northeast of Christchurch, has caused widespread destruction and according to Prime Minister John Key, would take billions of dollars to resolve.
While the exact scope of the devastation caused by the quake was still being determined, devastating images from the island country have been doing the rounds on the internet. One such image has made scientists, world over, take notice.
In one of the major impacts of the earthquake, the sea floor near Kaikoura, one of the towns hit hardest by the quake, has lifted and has risen more than 2 metres through the sand.
See it to believe it!
Anna Redmond uploaded this photo on Facebook and marine biologist Neville Exon confirmed to BuzzFeed News that it is indeed the seafloor. He is also not surprised at this happening.
The kelp positioned on top shows it is an uplift of the seabed through the sand a couple of metres. This is not at all surprising as Kaikoura experiences the fastest uplift as it sits on the [tectonic] plates, which are pushing up under there.
This picture shows a crustacean that is shocked because it suddenly has to adjust to life outside of water.
The aerial view of the area shows how widespread the destruction has been.
Roads and communication lines near the town of Kaikoura also broke down.
The pictures look terrifying. And it’s not going to be easy, but let’s just hope New Zealand recovers soon.