Breaking News: 5.5 Magnitude Earthquake in Christchurch

Christchurch has been rocked by two Earthquakes between 1230 and 1330 New Zealand Time.

The first one reading 4.3 magnitude on the Ritcher Scale took place near Darfiled at around 1230 in the afternoon and was 11 kilometres deep.

The second one took place around 1301 reading 5.5 magnitude on the Ritcher Scale. It was followed by another aftershock that took place 9 minutes later.

The Westfield Riccarton mall has been evacuated and security measures are currently in place to prevent loss of life due to aftershocks.

Residents of Beckenham and Merival have reported crockery crashing due to the shaking.

Reports of Liquefaction bubbling up from the ground have been reported from Richmond and other suburbs.

People have been reported to be trapped in various pockets in the city and medical help and rescue teams are already at the scene to assess and help the people.

The phone and mobile lines are currently overloading and the Lyttelton Tunnel has been closed due to dislodging of rocks from the Port Hills above. It has been reported that some of the rocks are as big as car tyres.

Many residents took to Twitter to inform the rest of the world of the Earthquakes that just took place.

The News is still developing.

By Anisha Achankunju (C) 13th June 2011