The quake epicenter was four miles south-southeast from Christchurch, New Zealand, on the nation’s south island. Local media reports there have been powerful aftershocks and power outages all through the metropolis.

Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city with a population of approximately 372,000.

Some Twitter users in Christchurch had been awoken by the earthquake and tweeted about it:

@mojomathers: OMG! That was a freakin big earthquake. Stuff broken. Ongoin aftershocks. Hope everybody ok

@the4avenues: Insane earthquake in #Christchurch this morning! That got me out of bed faster than any alarm-clock.

@julierodenberg: seven.four magnitude earthquake in Christchurch. It shook the water out with the toilet bowl. Crazy!

Christchurch, the biggest city in New Zealand’s South Island, was extensively damaged early these days by a massive 7.4-magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut energy, water and sewage connections.

Seismologists said the quake was centered about 19 miles west of the town, and brought on extensive damage simply because it was centered only 6 miles underground.

Only two severe injuries were reported and officials stated mass casualties were avoided because the quake struck at four:35 a.m. when most people had been still asleep.

There were reports of severe damage at the port of Lyttelton, seven miles from the city centre, but no tsunami warning was issued.

As aftershocks continued to shake the town of nearly 400,000, police closed the central business district – where roads were blocked by the fallen facades of office blocks – because of the threat of further collapses.

News reports stated police had been investigating reviews of looting of wrecked shops and businesses.

People, many still in pajamas, reportedly walked the streets in a daze, inspecting devastated houses that looked as though they had been bombed. The Avon River overflowed its banks, causing floods as the quake struck.