Two dead as huge quake rocks New Zealand

A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake killed two people and caused massive infrastructure damage in New Zealand on Monday, but officials said they were optimistic the death toll would not rise. The tremor, one of the most powerful ever recorded in the quake-prone South Pacific nation, hit just after midnight near the South Island coastal town of Kaikoura. Rescuers were left scrambling to reach Kaikoura, which had no telecommunications and was isolated by landslips, leaving officials fearing the worst.