Terrifying scenes in Christchurch as the city is struck by a 'severe' magnitude 5.9 earthquake - shaking buildings and sending a huge dust cloud over city

  • 'Severe' 5.9 magnitude earthquake has hit Christchurch, New Zealand
  • The quake hit about 15 kilometres east of the city in the town of Sumner
  • Large dust clouds have been seen blanketing the town in pictures online 
  • Quake comes one week before five year anniversary of the 2011 disaster 

By Liam Quinn and Matt Ogilvie For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 19:45 EST, 13 February 2016 | Updated: 10:30 EST, 14 February 2016

A severe 5.9 magnitude earthquake rocked Christchurch, New Zealand, shortly after 11am on Sunday.

The quake struck about 15 kilometres east of the city at a depth of just 31 kilometres, and was followed by a magnitude of 3.5 aftershock just four minutes later.

Photographs posted on social media pictures showed large dust clouds over the Christchurch suburb of Sumner, where a number of buildings and shops were evacuated.

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A severe 5.9 magnitude earthquake has rocked Christchurch, New Zealand, shortly after 11am on Sunday

The 5.9 magnitude earthquake was strong enough to force items of shop shelves 

Photographs posted on social media pictures showed large dust clouds over the Christchurch suburb of Sumner

Debris rise above houses after a cliff collapsed due to an earthquake on the Whitewash Head area, located above Scarborough Beach 

Zac Thomson was working on the roof of a supermarket in Christchurch’s CBD when the earthquake hit.

The 27-year-old told Daily Mail Australia that it was the first major shake he has felt since moving to the city in January.

‘The whole building started shaking and we all looked at each other and ran for the scaffold so we could get down,' Mr Thomson said. 

He said the earthquake lasted for about five to ten seconds.

Earthquake damage: 'Everyone got a big fright, we had everyone running out'

 Dust clouds evaporated over Sumner, a coastal seaside suburb of Christchurch

There was no major damage to the city but the Summer suburb picturesque cliff did crumble into the water

The quake hit the suburb of Sumner, about 15 kilometres east of Christchurch's city centre

 Large dust clouds were seen above houses in the suburb following the 5.9 magnitude quake

‘The street lamp posts were still wobbling for another five minutes after the shake,’ he said.

After the quake, the supermarket was evacuated and Thomson said he saw customers hugging each other.

‘You definitely get a bit of a fright because you don’t know how long it’s going to last or whether it will get worse,’ he said. 

A sizemogram displays the moment the earthquake struck in Christchurch 

People posted pictures on social media of the damage done inside their homes by the earthquake

2011 CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE 

  • 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit about 10 kilometres from Christchurch on February 22, 2011
  • 185 people killed in the disaster and up to 2000 more injured
  • Five year anniversary of the quake to be held one week after 

Buildings collapsed in the Christchurch earthquake on February 22, 2011

Jenny Krex, manager of Sumner Coffee Culture said things in her shop were broken by the shake, according to the NZ Herald.

'Everyone got a big fright, we had everyone running out,' Ms Krex told the newspaper. 

'I made sure everyone was okay, it was quite a big shock. It's crazy out here at the moment.'

It is currently unknown whether any buildings collapsed due to the earthquake.

A St John's Ambulance spokesman said a number of people had called reporting falls after the quake.

'At this stage, we have no reports of serious injuries or serious damage,' the statement read. 

New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management warned people to be aware of potential aftershocks. 

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee confirmed that there were no reports of serious injuries as a result of the earthquake this afternoon.

He said there appeared to be some damage to cliffs in the Port Hills, and Land Information New Zealand engineers were now surveying that area.

There were also early reports of liquefaction in the east of Christchurch, but it was not extensive.

However, a spokesman also said the threat of tsunami was low.

'Based on current information, the initial assessment is that the earthquake is unlikely to have caused an earthquake that will pose a threat to New Zealand,' a statement read. 

There were also reports a cliff in Sumner collapsed after quake, and that aftershocks are continuing. 

Sunday's earthquake hit a week before the five year anniversary of the deadly disaster that rocked Christchurch in 2011

People were without phone service in the impacted area, with Spark saying a number of its sites had gone down. 

'We have about 10 cell sites out in the Christchurch area after 5.9. Working on restoring service; more info soon. Hope everyone is OK!' the telecommunications company tweeted. 

The incident comes a week before the five year anniversary of the deadly 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Christchurch on February 22, 2011.

185 people died in the disaster and as many as 2000 people were injured.   

185 people died in the disaster and as many as 2000 people were injured after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit on February 22, 2011

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