Wellington: A 5.1-magnitude aftershock
rattled New Zealand`s Christchurch on Tuesday, geologists said,
reportedly cutting power in some areas of the already
earthquake-devastated city.
The quake struck at 22:34 (local time) at a depth of
10 kilometres (6.2 miles), seven kilometres south west of
Christchurch, the US Geological Survey said.
The official GeoNet monitoring service said it was
felt across the city, which has suffered three major quakes in
the past nine months, including a 6.0 tremor on June 13 and
February`s devastating 6.3 quake that killed 181 people.
Police said there were no reports of major damage from
today`s quake, although the Christchurch Press and Radio New
Zealand said power supplies were down in a number of suburbs.
Christchurch resident Farhad Dastgheib told the
Christchurch Press that the quake had pushed his bed around
violently.
"We heard a rumble and thought not again," Dastgheib
said. "It didn`t last as long as last Monday`s quake but still
felt scary. The aftershocks keep coming."
GeoNet reported further aftershocks measuring 3.5 and
3.6 in the hour after the 5.1 shake.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said yesterday the
bill from the devastating Christchurch earthquakes had soared
to NZ$25 billion (USD 20.2 billion), far more than previously
thought.
PTI
