Powerful earthquake Hits New Zealand.

A powerful 6.3 Earthquake has struck the city of Christchurch, New Zealand at a depth of 3.1 miles. A depth which is fairly shallow for a strong quake such as this one.  The USGS is also reporting a strong after shock registering 5.6 within the last hour.  Widespread damage and serious injuries are being reported along with power outages and general chaos in the streets as the quake happened just before 1PM local time (6PM Central time).  Christchurch has been struck many times before including a very strong 7.1 striking the southern city in September 2010.