Two earthquakes rock Christchurch, New Zealand

Wellington, Jun 13: Residents of New Zealand must have felt a sense of

on early morning Jun 13, when two earthquakes struck within 90 minutes near the city of Christchurch. Earlier this year in February, the country was rocked by a deadly earthquake that left more than 180 dead.

However, reports suggest that this time around, there has been no major loss to life and property.

Murray Hurst, the acting inspector of Christchurch Police was quoted by CNN as saying, "It was quite an exciting ride," before adding that there was some damage and a few injuries, but none quite serious enough.

Reports say that the first earthquake was of a magnitude of 5.2 on Richter scale, and was centred around nine kilometres east-southeast of Christchurch at a depth of about 11 kilometres.

The second one struck around one and a half hour later. It was more powerful than the earlier one and measured around 6.0. It hit about 13 kilometres north-northeast of Christchurch at a depth of 9 kilometres.

As a safety precaution, several bridges in the city was closed.

The city police also evacuated sections of the central business district after reports of a possible gas leak.

Meanwhile, John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand has said that the latest quakes are likely to affect recovery efforts of the February earthquakes. He said, "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild."

OneIndia News