Two strong earthquakes have rocked the New Zealand city of Christchurch, closing the airport and sending residents rushing from buildings.

The first 5.8 quake struck at 1358 local time (0058 GMT), the US Geological Survey said. A second of similar magnitude hit 80 minutes later.

One person was hurt but there were no reports of large-scale damage.

It comes 10 months after swathes of the city were destroyed by another quake.

The first earthquake struck 26km (15 miles) north-east of the city at a depth of 4.7km. The second was in almost exactly the same place, the USGS said.

Electricity and telecommunications services have been disrupted in some areas.

A shopping centre has also been evacuated and residents were reported to be standing outside buildings.

The airport was closed but an official told local media it was expected to reopen later in the day after checks.

Witnesses told local media shoppers ran from buildings as goods fell off shelves.

Police are checking the city for damage and Prime Minister John Key is being updated on developments, his spokesman said.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said events had left people shaken.

"I haven't heard any more significant problems at the moment," local media quoted him as saying after the first quake.

"Inevitably it would have caused damage to structures, we hope it hasn't unsettled any rock falls, and we just have to hope the liquefaction issues don't return."

Liquefaction is the weakening of the soil due to the rising of silt and water sparked by an earthquake.

Local media said there were reports of liquefaction in the suburb of Parklands.

A total of 181 people were killed when the last earthquake struck in February. It caused up to NZ$20bn ($15.5bn, £9.9bn) in economic losses.

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