Stringer/New Zealand / Reuters
Dust rises from rocks falling from a cliff in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner moments after the earthquake struck.
By msnbc.com staff, NBC News and news services
Two 5.8?magnitude?earthquakes?struck?the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday, damaging buildings and sewer lines and knocking out power to some neighborhoods. At least 19 people were injured, media reports said.
The city is still recovering from a 6.3 quake in February that killed?181 people.
The New Zealand Herald reported on its website that Friday's first quake struck at 1:58 p.m. local time and lasted?20-30 seconds. The USGS said the quake was centered about 15 miles east-northeast of Christchurch at a very shallow depth of 2.9 miles. GeoNet placed the quake slightly deeper at about 5 miles.
Get the latest quake updates at breakingnews.com
Strong aftershocks rapidly followed, including a?5.3 magnitude quake minutes later. Then a little over an hour after the first quake,?another 5.8 struck, the USGS said.
At least 19 people were reported injured and required medical treatment, Radio New Zealand reported.
Power was reported out in some neighborhoods, and the Herald said that liquefaction of the ground had occurred in?some of the city's eastern?suburbs. Sewer lines broke, goods fell from shelves in stores, and large cracks opened in some buildings, the Herald reported.
More coverage of the quake from the New Zealand Herald
New Zealand Police said one person was reported injured at the Eastgate Mall and was taken to a hospital. The police agency said all major shopping malls were evacuated and closed.
Christchurch International Airport was evacuated. A Qantas flight from Sydney was diverted to Wellington, the Herald said. Airport authorities said they?hoped to reopen the?airport after checking?buildings and other facilities for damage. In a tweet at 9:18 p.m.?EST, airport officials said that?"we hope this wil happen in a few hours."
Newstalk ZB reported that debris had fallen from the?Catholic cathedral on Barbados Street.
Radio New Zealand News?reported that Warwick Isaacs of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority said buildings in the city's center were evacuated as a precaution.
"It ... started slow then really got going. It was a big swaying one but not as jolting or as violent as in February," Christchurch resident Rita Langley said.
"It was incredibly violent," one caller told Radio New Zealand.
"All the water in my birdbath slopped out and I could hear everything falling over inside. When I walked inside, the cat streaked out the door, ornaments were all over the floor, contents of the pantry were lying on the floor, a little bit of smashed glass and picture frames lying over."
The shaking was severe in the nearby port town of Lyttelton, the epicenter of the Feb. 22 quake.
"We stayed inside until the shaking stopped. Then most people went out into the street outside," resident Andrew Turner said. "People are emotionally shocked by what happened this afternoon."
The area has recorded more than 7,000 earthquakes since a magnitude-7 quake rocked the city on Sept. 4, 2010. That quake did not cause any deaths.? But the?earthquake that hit Christchurch?on Feb. 22 killed 181 and?caused damage intially estimated at up to $12 billion.?It was the second deadliest quake ever recorded?in New Zealand; one in 1931 in Hawke's Bay?killed 256 people.
The USGS told NBC News that the quakes on Friday could be classified as aftershocks of the February killer.
Christchurch is on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island.
This article includes reporting from?msnbc.com staff, NBC News, Reuters?and The Associated Press.
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