A 5.7 magnitude quake struck near New Zealand's city of Christchurch Sunday, according to the country's earthquake monitoring service.

The quake hit just eight days short of the Feb. 22, 2011 earthquake in the same region, which resulted in nearly 200 deaths and caused billions of dollars of damage.

The epicenter was 15 kilometers east of the city at a depth of 15 km, Geonet said.

A police spokesman told Reuters there were no reports of damage or major injuries although the tremor did cause "some major rocks to be dislodged into the sea" near Sumner.

Several buildings were evacuated in Christchurch as a precautionary measures.

Civil Defense said there was no tsunami threat to New Zealand. – Reuters