A SERIES of earthquakes of 5.0 magnitude struck Christchurch, New Zealand, within an hour and a half on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, as quoted by CNN. Reports about a possible gas leak led the police to evacuate the central business district in the city after the quake. As part of precautionary measures the police also closed down the bridges in Christchurch.
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According to the police, some people were injured and property was damaged because of the quake, but there were no reports about loss of life so far. The first quake, with a magnitude of 5.2, occurred in east-southeast of Christchurch at 1 pm on Monday. The second quake, which was comparatively more powerful (6.0 magnitude) struck the north-northeast part of the city at around 2:20 pm. This was followed by at least one small quake with a magnitude of 4.6. New Zealand's GNS Institute said that aftershocks within the range of 4.0 to 5.0 were expected in the coming days, as quoted by Reuters. Prime Minister John Key said that the recovery efforts could be affected by the fresh seismic activity. "I acknowledge that this is a setback for Christchurch, but it does not lessen our resolve to rebuild," he told reporters in Parliament, according to Reuters.This is a second earthquake incident in the city this year; the first one happened four months back when a 6.3-magnitude quake hit earthquake incident. At least 180 people were killed. The quake brought down the value of New Zealand dollar, ultimately hitting the government’s Christchurch restructuring plan after the strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake of September 2010. The city’s restructuring plan is estimated to cost around USD 12.2 billion.
