CNN News: 新西蘭7.8級大地震 首都震感強烈

First story takes us to the South Pacific nation of New Zealand, where a powerful earthquake jolted the country`s south island just after midnight on Monday. A little more than a million people live in the south island and though earthquakes are common in New Zealand, they`re not usually this powerful.

頭條新聞是關(guān)于南太平洋國家的新西蘭。周一午夜后，新西蘭南部發(fā)生強烈地震。約有100多萬人住在南部島嶼，盡管新西蘭經(jīng)常發(fā)生地震，但是通常都是小型地震。

This was a magnitude 7.8 quake, a major one, capable of causing significant damage. Its epicenter was about 30 miles northeast of the city of Christchurch, home to 340,000 people. But the quake was estimated to have hit about 14 miles deep and the buffer between the quake itself and the earth surface might have kept things from being worse.

這次的7.8級地震，引發(fā)了重大的損失。震中距離克賴斯特徹奇東北部約30公里，克賴斯特徹奇約有34萬人口。但是震源深約14公里，地震緩沖可能會減少損失。

New Zealand`s building code aims to make structure strong enough to get through tremors. But especially in an island nation, the quake itself is only part of the problem.

新西蘭的建筑規(guī)范的目的就是使房屋可以承受足夠的震動。特別是在一個島國,地震只是問題的一部分。

You`re hearing tsunami sirens, urgent warnings telling people who live anywhere near the coast to get to high ground, waves that were eight feet higher than the country`s usual tide levels were reported early on, a local meteorologist said it was the highest tsunami the country has seen in 38 years. By Monday morning, the thread had eased and people at high risks areas were told they could go back home.

你聽到海嘯警報,警告居住接近高地海岸的人們,這次的海浪比之前要高出八尺。當(dāng)?shù)氐臍庀髮W(xué)家表示，這是本國38年最大的海嘯。截止到周一早晨，現(xiàn)在形勢已經(jīng)緩解，在危險地區(qū)的人們被告知，可以回家了。

Still, there were a number of aftershocks, some strong enough to cause further damage. The nation`s prime minister said at least two people have been killed, but more deaths were feared. New Zealand is located on the Pacific Ocean`s Ring of Fire -- a horseshoe-shaped belt where a lot of the earth`s volcanic and earthquake activity takes place.

不過,尚有余震發(fā)生,一些余震非常強大足以進一步造成損害。新西蘭總理表示至少兩人喪生,但是可能還有有更多的人員傷亡。新西蘭位于太平洋火山地震帶,此處經(jīng)常有火山和地震發(fā)生。