PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE IN CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Christ Church Cathedral after the earthquake

From the New York Times:

A large earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey, causing buildings to collapse and burying vehicles under debris. There were preliminary reports that the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the early afternoon, resulted in fatalities, but none were confirmed.

Damage was extensive and people were trapped inside crumbled buildings, The Associated Press reported. Prime Minister John Key told Parliament that there might be casualties. “Sadly, I cannot rule out whether there have been fatalities or not,” he said.


Video from the scene by 3 News New Zealand showed extensive damage to the city’s main cathedral, as well as people running through the streets to safety. One person called it “the most frightening thing of my entire life.”

Christ Church Cathedral before the earthquake

Photos from twitpic here and here.

H/T to Nicholas Knisely at The Lead.

UPDATE: From Anglican Communion News Service:

The Dean of Christchurch Cathedral, the Very Revd Peter Beck, has said he is fearful that people may have been in the Cathedral's tower when it collapsed after an earthquake struck the city.

Speaking to the BBC's 5 Live Radio programme he said that he had himself been in the cathedral office when the quake struck, but was able to escape and get others out of the Cathedral. However, he warned that others could still be trapped inside.
"We were in the cathedral when this happened," he said, "in the office and fortunately that wasn't too badly damaged, but the tower has collapsed and some of the walls have collapsed and we're pretty fearful there may be some people underneath that."

He said that, while there was no service taking place at the time, the cathedral is one of the biggest visitor attractions in the country so there would still have been visitors inside. "There will have been people in the Cathedral, as well as our own staff of course, when this happened. There's a huge amount of dust, it's like a fog inside there.

"We got all the people out that we could, but there are piles of rubble, especially where the tower has collapsed. We don't know whether there were people in the tower at the time, but I'm fairly fearful of that."

H/T to MadPriest.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks prayer in response to natural disaster.

Adon ha-olamim, Sovereign of the universe,

We join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world, for the victims of the earthquake which this week has brought destruction and disaster to many lives.

Almighty God, we pray You, send healing to the injured, comfort to the bereaved, and news to those who sit and wait. May You be with those who even now are engaged in the work of rescue. May You send Your strength to those who are striving to heal the injured, give shelter to the homeless, and bring food and water to those in need. May You bless the work of their hands, and may they merit to save lives.

Almighty God, we recognise how small we are, and how powerless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed. Therefore, open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that our words may bring comfort and our gifts bring aid. Be with us now and with all humanity as we strive to mend what has been injured and rebuild what has been destroyed.

Ken Yehi Ratzon, ve-nomar Amen.
May it be Your will, and let us say Amen.

From Beliefnet.