Christchurch hit by 2 earthquakes

GlobalPost
The World

Two earthquakes struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on Monday, a mere four months after a quake devastated much of the city and killed more than 180 people.

Monday's earthquakes struck about 90 minutes apart and caused some damage and a few injuries but no casualties, CNN reports.

The first was a magnitude 5.2 and was centered five miles east-southeast of Christchurch at Taylors Mistake beach, while the second was a magnitude 6.0 and hit about eight miles north-northeast of the city, it states.

People fled buildings in panic after the first quake, Al Jazeera reports.

The February disaster was a 6.3-magnitude, killed 181 people and destroyed several buildings.

Mayor Bob Parker told Radio New Zealand there were new fears for Christchurch Cathedral, which was badly damaged in February, BBC reports.

"Thank God we had evacuated the red zone," he said, referring to the center of the city. "We are being enveloped with dust. It is very very scary. There has been a report of a further collapse of the remnants of the Christchurch Cathedral."

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