Council setting up Emergency Operations Centre in the city, following this afternoon's 5.8 earthquake

The Christchurch City Council is establishing an Emergency Operations Centre in the city, following this afternoon’s 5.8 earthquake and aftershocks.

The quake is believed to have resulted in:

• Rock fall behind containers at Scarborough
• Some liquefaction reported at Parklands

Police are doing aerial reconnaissance to check for damage across the city.

All Council buildings will be closed, until they can be assessed as safe to occupy. People should assume all Council buildings are closed until they can be assessed and declared safe.

There are reports of a power supply outage at New Brighton, though this is not believed to cover a large area.

The Council is still assessing whether water or waste services have been affected.