Christchurch New Zealand was struck by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake on Saturday morning.

According to New Zealand authorities, the strong earthquake that shook the second largest city of the country caused significant damage to the infrastructure but there was no loss of life reported.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker declared the emergency as the predawn quake hit the New Zealand’s South Island. New Zealand seismologists reported the magnitude at 7.1 whereas USGS gave a lower magnitude of 7.0.

At Christchurch, only two serious injuries have been reported so far. According to these reports one man was hit by a falling chimney while other was injured by the glass. Civil Defense Minister John Carter said in a statement that his nation was lucky to avoid fatalities after such a strong tremor.

Christchurch residents fell out of beds and ran in a panic through the Christchurch streets but luckily there was no complete demolish of any building though facades of many buildings crumbled to ground littering the streets with bricks and glass.

Reports further say that Christchurch residents faced ruptured underground utility lines for natural gas, sewage and water while many bridges were damaged and power and telephone supply networks were disrupted.

Prime Minister John Key is expected to visit Christchurch for assessing the cost of the damage.

There were also reports of looting in some of the damaged stores in Christchurch whose population is around 350000 while Christchurch airport was closed as a precaution but was re-opened afterwards.

Strong aftershocks also followed the major tremor during the day and the largest of aftershock was measured 5.3 in magnitude. New Zealand is situated on the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates and it experiences around 14000 quakes a year.
The epicenter of the quake is reported 55km north-west of Christchurch and it was 12 km deep which is considered quite shallow.

Christchurch New Zealand