Things sound pretty bad there, from the reports I’m reading. Usually these things hit in lesser-developed countries, and in the US, we could probably take a hit that big, at least in the west, with relatively few fatalities, because we’ve long had building codes for it, but it sounds like there was a lot of unreinforced masonry in the town, and the epicenter was very close.

But people on the east coast should be aware that it could be just as bad if one hits there, and while it happens a lot less often than in California, it can still happen.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Here’s an interesting animated map showing all of the temblors today, most of which were aftershocks, and big ones. It looks like it’s on the Greendale fault.

[Update a few minutes later]

Here’s all the coverage at the New Zealand Herald.

[Update about 10 PM PST]

CNN is reporting at least sixty five dead. I suspect the toll is going to be quite a bit higher when they clear the rubble.