Earthquakes Rattle City of Chirstchuch, New Zealand

December 23, 2011 | CNN.com

(Christchurch) - A series of earthquakes struck New Zealand near the city of Christchurch on Friday, causing damage and disruption in an area still recovering from a powerful quake in February.

The tremors have injured at least two people and resulted in the closure of the Christchurch airport, said Vince Cholewa, spokesman for the New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management. He added that he did not have any information about the severity of the people’s injuries at the moment.

The first, a 5.8-magnitude quake, with an epicenter 26 kilometers (16 miles) east-northeast of Christchurch, took place just before 2 p.m. Friday (8 p.m. Thursday, EST) at a depth of 4.7 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A smaller, 5.3-magnitude temblor followed eight minutes later.

The emergency services began responding, offices closed and people filed out of buildings. Fallen rocks created problems for traffic.

Read More: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/22/world/asia/new-zealand-earthquake/index.html

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