1. Christchurch earthquake

3. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake has rocked New Zealand's second largest city Christchurch, causing injuries and widespread damage, including the collapse of some buildings and power outages, witnesses and the US geological survey say. The Civil Defence ministry says the national crisis management centre has been activated.

4. Although many people with minor injuries sought treatment, hospitals said there were no reports of any serious injuries although doctors were on standby because of the intensity of the quake and the damage to buildings..

5. The quake struck at a depth of 16.1km about 30km northwest of Christchurch at 4:35am (0235 AEST) on Saturday, the USGS said. Roads in the seaside suburbs were packed with cars as residents moved inland but there were no tsunami alerts issued

6. Aftershocks Canterbury aftershocks As of 2 November 2010 (2010 -11-02)almost 2500 aftershocks of magnitude 2 or more have been recorded, including three of 5.4 magnitude. On 8 September 2010, there was a large 5.1 magnitude aftershock with an epicentre just 7 km from the city centre, and on 19 October 2010 there was a magnitude 5.0 aftershock with a depth of just 9 km which caused surface shaking reported to be the worst since the original earthquake. Some have caused further damage to buildings in the central business district, and been felt as far away as Dunedin.

7. Aftershocks have generally been occurring at the expected rate following a main shock of this size.GNS Science has not ruled out an aftershock as large as magnitude 6, as previously expected, but as of 23 September 2010 (2010 -09-23) they suspect that the largest aftershock (a 5.6 magnitude quake 20 minutes after the main one) has already happened.