A STRONG 6.9-magnitude earthquake has hit northeast India, killing at least 19 people, including three caught in a wall collapse at the British Embassy in neighbouring Nepal.
The quake was felt across a wide region after it struck the small, landlocked Himalayan state of Sikkim - which borders Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet - about 6:10pm (22:40 AEST) last night, according to the US Geological Survey.
The epicentre was just over 60km northwest of the Sikkim state capital Gangtok, where at least 60 people were injured and the town was plunged into darkness by a power cut after the quake.
"There is no electricity. Everybody is out on the road," Gangtok resident CK Dahal told a local television news channel.
"We all ran out of our houses, some even jumped out of their windows. You can see some buildings that have developed cracks," he added.
Tremors were felt in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Indian cities of Guwahati and Kolkata, as well as 1000km away in the Indian capital New Delhi.
In Nepal, police said three people were killed, including a motorcyclist and his eight-year-old daughter, when a wall collapsed at the British Embassy compound in the capital Kathmandu, 270km west of the epicentre.
"Another two died in a separate incident in eastern Nepal," national police spokesman Binod Singh said.
A budget debate in Nepal's parliament was stalled for 15 minutes while MPs leapt to their feet and fled the chamber as the entire building shook.
Telephone landlines to Sikkim, India's least populous state, were knocked out and mobile networks were swamped, making communication with the affected area difficult.
The quake was followed by two strong aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 6.1, and the death toll may rise as reports arrive from remote communities.
Sikkim Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso said five people had been killed and 60 injured in and around Gangtok as the result of mudslides, building collapses and falling debris.
"We have reports of dozens of collapsed houses, and roads to many towns have been blocked by landslides," Gyatso said.
The Press Trust of India news agency said that police rescued 15 foreign tourists in the north of Sikkim, a popular destination for trekkers, but it did not give their nationalities.
Nine other people died in India, including one reportedly killed in a stampede by panicked residents in Bihar state and four who were buried when a house fell down near Darjeeling.
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Management Authority, and Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth said that air force planes carrying rescue teams and relief supplies had been despatched to Sikkim.
Strong tremors were felt in Guwahati, the main city in Assam state, some 600km away, sending people running into the streets.
In Bhutan, buildings in the capital Thimphu were also rocked.
India's seven northeastern states, joined to the rest of the country by a narrow sliver of land, are located in an area of frequent seismic activity.
Sam Law posted this picture on Twitter with the following caption: 'Standing in Stevens while glasses and plates break and people scream and run. My hands are shaking but I'm ok. Picture: Twitter/SamLaw Supplied
UPDATE 4.40pm: THE earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch has been rocked by two powerful 5.8 and 6.0 magnitude tremors, sending terrified residents onto the streets and forcing the airport to close.
The first quake struck at 1.58 pm (11.58am AEDT) as stores were packed with Christmas shoppers, turning their festive mood into panic as stock fell from shelves.
The second 5.8 quake came 70 minutes later as inner-city streets were gridlocked by people desperate to get home.
Two lesser quakes measuring 5.3 and 5.0 followed centred offshore, between 10km and 20km east of the city, at depths between 6km and 10km, according to GNS Science. They were felt widely around the South Island but there was no threat of a tsunami.
Local news media reported people fleeing in fear as the quake and a series of strong aftershocks rattled the city.
"You can't underestimate the ongoing stress this has created for people,'' Mayor Bob Parker said, as the city continues to recover from a 6.3-magnitude quake in February that killed 181 people and destroyed much of the downtown.
Three unoccupied buildings collapsed and there have been a dozens of minor injuries.
One person was rushed to hospital after being injured in a shopping mall and the National Crisis Management Centre was activated.
There were widespread evacuations of shopping malls, buildings and Christchurch Airport and traffic congestion as people hit the roads to get home.
Residents at Windsor Hospital rest home in New Brighton were evacuated by the Fire Service.
The eastern suburbs, which were hard-hit by February's devastating quake, were again hit by significant liquefaction and flooding.
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton told Radio New Zealand he had flown over the city and seen liquefaction in the CBD as well as in the eastern suburbs.
The Christchurch Cathedral appeared to have suffered more damage, he said.
A partly demolished building in the central city had collapsed along with a vacant house in the suburb of Hillsborough and a red-stickered house in Oram Ave, New Brighton.
St John Ambulance says it received around 150 emergency calls and it attended treated about 60 people for incidents such as heart attacks, collapses and panic attacks.
Power company Orion said an estimated 26,000 connections lost power in the eastern suburbs.
Christchurch Airport was evacuated after the quake, but was expected to reopen at 5.20pm (7.20pm AEDT) with flights to resume at 6pm (8pm AEDT).
All available police units were mobilised to check on safety and damage across the city of more than 360,000 and people were urged to stay away from hill suburbs because of the risk of rockfalls.
Scientists had warned last month of an increased probability that another powerful earthquake would hit Christchurch.
"We knew to expect aftershocks and one in the range around about 6.0 was expected over the next 12 months and that appears to have arrived,'' Parker said.
Christchurch Central City Business Association manager Paul Lonsdale told Fairfax the quakes came at the worst possible time for retailers, as people completed their Christmas shopping.
"It's really the last thing we needed - a shake just before Christmas,'' he said.
"We've had a hell of a year really in many respects. We thought it was close to being over, but perhaps not quite.''
Newstalk ZB radio reporter Jo Scott said the tremors were "absolutely frightening".
"My husband was outside the Catholic Cathedral on Barbados [Street] and there were big bits of rubble falling down on that again, so there will certainly be damage to those buildings," she said.
"It's absolutely frightening. My children are literally shaking and sobbing in my arms. That's the worst bit. But we're tough and we have a strong house and we'll be OK."
Local woman Juliet McVeigh told AAP the quake was loud and was the first quake to actually wake her toddler Otto.
"He woke screaming, which he has never done," she said.
"It was violent, some are long and slow. This one was violent and then three or four aftershocks."
Christchurch resident Jo Davis told Fairfax News her neighbours were screaming.
"I was terrified, I guess just because it's been so long since we've had a decent one. We've had a TV and glasses fall over but no repeat of liquefaction (when earth becomes fluid) like in June, so I guess it's not so bad.''
Local power company Orion confirmed there were power outages and phone lines were jammed.
Telecom asked customers to keep mobile phones free for emergency use and asked people to text rather than call.
Twitter reports said household items were smashed as the quake was felt as far south as Dunedin.
Government seismologists said both 5.8 quakes were shallow.
The series of shakes are the largest to hit the region in about three months.
New Zealand sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire'', the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.
By Matthew Theunissen , Teuila Fuatai 8:04 AM Sunday Jul 21, 2013
A swarm of earthquakes has rattled central New Zealand today.
Wellington and the top of the South Island have been hit by a 6.5 magnitude quake this afternoon.
The quake, which was centred 30km east of Seddon, the site of all the seismic activity in the last couple of days, was 11km deep.
Experts say it is unlikely the swarm of earthquakes which rattled central New Zealand today signals "the big one'' could be on the way, but people should still be prepared.
At least 30 earthquakes have struck since 5am, the largest being a magnitude 5.8 in the Cook Strait between Wellington and Seddon at 7.17am.
There have been seven earthquakes measuring above magnitude 4 since 5am. Most have been centred in the strait off Seddon but there have been quakes further south off Kaikoura and as far north as Wanganui.
It is the second time in three days a severe quake has struck near Seddon - a magnitude 5.7 quake shook the region on Friday - prompting fears an even larger earthquake could be on the way.
But GNS Science seismologist Anna Kaiser said earthquakes of this magnitude were not unusual in the region.
''... When we get one of these events there will be increased seismicity in the region and there's always the possibility of a larger event but it's unlikely,'' she said.
However, she said people should be prepared for a large earthquake striking at any time.
Lea Hayward from Blenheim was in bed when the largest of today's earthquakes occurred.
"I actually felt three this morning and they were all reasonable shakes,'' said
"I think people are [apprehensive], and I've been like that myself - is the big one going to come? I do know a few friends who are going to get their emergency supplies updated, and I myself need to do that.''
Seddon Supervalue owner Kevin Kamat said some items were bounced off the shelves.
"It was certainly quite a big one and quite scary, sure. It lasted a wee while and there were quite a few aftershocks. It seemed quite a bit bigger than the one on Friday.''
Stores around Wellington said while the quakes were unnerving, there was no major damage.
Grandslam Liquor store staff member Robert Henry was surprised nothing was broken at the Brooklyn store.
"It felt kind of bad, but nothing fell down, miraculously.''
The quake forced the temporary closure of Wellington's rail network this morning with services replaced by buses while the tracks were inspected, KiwiRail said.
Train services on the Kapiti Line, Hutt Valley and Johnsonville had since resumed but closures remained in place between Wellington, Waikanae and Masterton.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said there had been no reports of damage to infrastructure .
"We did some building checks on Friday after the first big shake.''
Larger buildings such as the Town Hall may be inspected tomorrow.
"Because the shakes are not getting to a size where they are causing obvious damage, we are just taking things slowly,'' he said.
"If the magnitude increases, then obviously we'll jump into action this afternoon.''
Twitter was full of comments about the quake this morning.
"Oh damn that was scary. Crouched in the doorway still shaking,'' said Laura Vincent.
Rochelle Iti wrote after a magnitude 4.9 aftershock: "Excuse me while I move to Australia before #Wellington becomes the new Christchurch''.
Tobias Brockie: "my parents, who live in chch, have both texted me with concern at first and then scornful dismissal in the wake of that quake.''
Journalist Barry Soper said the quake was "fair rocking''.
"15 floors up when the quake struck: Heather, let's watch from the balcony. Barry: Let's stand under a door jam, oh so boring but safe!''
- APNZ
By Matthew Theunissen Email Matthew, Teuila Fuatai Email Teuila
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