New Zealand earthquake leaves broken roads but few deaths
A major earthquake struck the South Pacific country early Monday morning, causing costly infrastructure damage. The population, however, seems to have been mostly spared.
Shaken foundations
A historic church in Waiau, New Zealand, lies ruined after Monday's earthquake. A quake of similar magnitude struck the same region in 2011.
Destroyed infrastructure
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, has said that repairs to infrastructure, such as this cracked stretch of Highway 7a near Christchurch, could cost the country 2 billion New Zealand dollars ($1.43 billion, 1.33 billion euros).
The aftershock
US Geological Survey placed the aftershock of the earthquake 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Christchurch, New Zealand's third largest city with a population of 366,000. Earthquakes of such large magnitude - 7.8 on the Richter Scale - occur only three times per year globally, according to the organization.
Rubble in the city
Glass and other material lies on the sidewalk in Wakefield Street in New Zealand's capital Wellington. The quake struck just after midnight on Monday morning.
Almost unscathed
People wait outside on Dixon Street in Wellington after being safely evacuated from buildings in the wake of the Monday morning quake. A 2011 earthquake in the same region claimed 185 lives, but only two casualties have so far been reported in Monday's aftermath.