Storms to hit New Zealand after quake

NEW Zealand prepared for further destruction as after shocks and an approaching storm threatened an area hit by the most devastating earthquake in decades.

Prime Minister John Key said it was “a miracle” no one had died when the major 7.0 magnitude quake wreaked more than a billion dollars of damage on the nation’s second-biggest city Christchurch on Saturday.

Civil defence officials warned that ongoing aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 5.4, coupled with a ferocious storm blowing in, could threaten already-weakened buildings.