New Zealand's last major earthquake was a magnitude 7.8 in South Island's Fiordland region on Ja temblor that moved the southern tip of the country 12 inches closer to Australia, seismologist Ken Gledhill said at the time. "Thank God for earthquake strengthening 10 years ago," Anglican Dean of Christchurch, Rev. Though chimneys and some older facades came down, the structures are well built," said Savage, a professor at the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences at Victoria University in the capital, Wellington. "It's about the same size (quake) as Haiti, but the damage is so much less. (that) mean the buildings are strong compared with, say, Haiti," which suffered widespread damage in a magnitude-7.0 quake this year, earth sciences professor Martha Savage told The Associated Press. "New Zealand has very good building codes. (AP Photo/NZPA, David Alexander) ** NEW ZEALAND OUT ** David Alexander / NZPA A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck much of New Zealand's South Island early Saturday and caused widespread damage, but there were just two reports of serious injuries. People inspect a crack caused in the South Brighton Bridge approach in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, Sept. Experts said the low number of injuries in the powerful quake reflects the country's strict building codes.
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