The 2011 Christchurch earthquake was a 6.3 magnitudeearthquake which struck the South Island of New Zealand at 12:51 pm on 22 February 2011NZT. (This is 23:51 21 FebruaryUTC). It was about 5 km underground. It struck the Canterbury region of the island and caused a lot of damage and many deaths in Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city.