5.8-magnitude quake hits New Zealand city: USGS

Wellington: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hit the New Zealand city of Christchurch Sunday, seismologists said, sending goods flying off shelves.

Sirens could be heard going off around the South Island city and at least one building was evacuated, according to media reports.

The quake struck a week before the fifth anniversary of a deadly 6.3 tremor in Christchurch which killed 185 in one of New Zealand's deadliest disasters.

The latest quake was measured at 5.8 by the US Geological Survey at a shallow depth of about eight kilometres (five miles) and centred 17 kilometres west of the city.

New Zealand is on the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, which form part of the so-called "Ring of Fire", and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.