Aftershocks hit New Zealand, two confirmed dead

After a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck central New Zealand early on Monday, killing at least two people and damaging roads and buildings, hundreds of strong aftershocks were set off.

Emergency response teams flew by helicopter to the region at the epicenter of the tremor, which struck just after midnight about 91 km northeast of Christchurch in the South Island.

Reuters news agency reports that powerlines and telecommunications were down, with huge cracks in roads, land slips and other damage to infrastructure making it hard to reach the worst-affected areas.

A tsunami warning that led to mass evacuations after the original quake was downgraded after large swells hit New Zealand's capital Wellington, in the North Island, and Christchurch.

Hundreds of aftershocks, the strongest a 6.2 quake at about 1:45pm local time (1:45 CET), rattled the South Pacific country.

About 10 hours after the earthquake hit, GeoNet had recorded 232 aftershock events. Later, close to 300 shocks had reportedly been recorded.