3 Cows Survive New Zealand Earthquake (Photo) 

​Three cows somehow survived an earthquake in New Zealand after their field was destroyed leaving them stranded on a tiny patch of grass.

The two adult cattle and one calf were spotted via helicopter trapped on the small island that was created after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck close to the small town of Kaikoura.

The patch of grass was left surrounded by deep ravines trapping the animals where they stood.

It was not immediately clear whether they were part of a larger herd, or who their owner was.

Kaikoura is close to the epicenter of the earthquake, which killed two people.

The quake was strongly felt to the south in Christchurch but was far less damaging than a smaller 2011 earthquake that devastated the city and killed 185 people.

It will be recalled that another earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude has hit New Zealand’s South Island, hours after an initial quake killed two people.

The new tremor struck at 13:45 local time (00:45 GMT) at a depth of 10km (6 miles), northeast of Christchurch.

A 7.5-magnitude quake, with the same depth, had hit the same area just after midnight, triggering tsunami warnings.

A large river dammed up by a landslide has now breached its banks sending a “large wall of water” downstream.

Residents around the Clarence River – one of the largest on South Island – were being urged to move immediately to higher ground.

There have been hundreds of strong aftershocks, causing power shortages and cuts in water supply, since the initial quake.

GeoNet, a government-funded project monitoring earthquakes, said the first earthquake was actually two related tremors, and that aftershocks would continue over the next few months.

As the aftershocks keep coming, Kiwis up and down the country are sharing the same emotions.

Exhaustion from a sleepless night, concern for those still cut off from communication, and sadness for the two people who lost their lives. But there is also real relief.

This earthquake was greater in magnitude than 2011’s Christchurch tremor, but it didn’t bring the same level of devastation.

The cost of rebuilding will be huge – major parts of New Zealand’s infrastructure have been twisted and snapped out of shape.

But as is often the case when disaster strikes, New Zealand’s people have pulled together checked on their neighbours and offered each other a safe haven. Authorities have spent the night and day rescuing and evacuating residents along the east coast.

New Zealand media reported that a 100-year-old woman and her daughter-in-law were pulled out alive from their home in the town of Kaikoura, after the house collapsed in the first earthquake. The younger woman’s husband died.

A woman also died at Mount Lyford, southwest of Kaikoura, though there are reports she may have died from an existing medical condition.

Waves of around 2m (6.6ft) hit the coast shortly after the first earthquake. Authorities have since lifted the tsunami alert, but are still warning people to stay away from the shoreline.

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