The New Zealand city of Christchurch, which is yet to recover from the ill effects of February earthquake, was today rocked by two earthquakes in a time difference of 70 minutes.

The first tremor, occurring around 00.58 hrs GMT, carried a magnitude of 5.8 while the second one showed 5.9 on the Richter scale. The two tremors terrorized the city people who came out of their house fearing for their lives.

The government has also closed down its city airport and people were seen sitting on the city streets gripped by fear and anxiety.
The entire populace of the city went into a deep shock as the tremors struck them when they were in a merry mood and shopping for the Christmas festival.

Officials said the people are yet to recover from the powerful 6.3 earthquake of February which killed around 200 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in the city.

Due to the impact of the earthquakes today, telephone and electricity services were cut off as a safety measure. The government has also asked people to come out of the shopping malls, hotels and airports in the city. (JUBS)