Quake strikes near New Zealand's Christchurch city

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale Saturday struck near New Zealand's Christchurch city, which had witnessed serious damage after being hit by 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February.

Updated on: Jan 2, 2012, 09:31:35 IST

IANS | By HT Correspondent, Moscow

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An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale on Saturday struck near New Zealand's Christchurch city, which had witnessed serious damage after being hit by 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February.

The tremblor's epicentre was located at the depth of some 10 km, only 14 km from Christchurch.

First tremors were registered at 1.44 pm on Saturday local time. No death or casualties, however, were reported and no tsunami alert was issued.

Last week, the area was hit by three powerful aftershocks, measuring 5.3-5.8 on the Richter scale.

New Zealand's second largest city Christchurch was hit by a series of aftershocks following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake Sep 4, 2010.

The most devastating aftershock measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale rattled the area in February, causing extensive damage and leaving over 180 people dead.

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