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A shallow aftershock rattled the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Tuesday, cutting power, sending items crashing from shelves and closing the city's airport, officials and witnesses said.

 The 4.7-magnitude quake hit at 11:32am (2232 Monday GMT) and was centred 12 kilometres southwest of Christchurch at a depth of just 9.0 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

 It was among the strongest of almost 2,000 aftershocks that have hit New Zealand's second largest city since a 7.0-magnitude tremor on September 4 caused widespread destruction.

 GNS Science duty seismologist Sara Page said the latest quake was closer to the city than previous aftershocks, magnifying its impact.

 "That would be the biggest, closest one we've had for a while," she told the Christchurch Press.

 Christchurch airport said flights had been suspended while runways were inspected for damage, while electricity supplier Orion said 10,000 homes lost power for about 15 minutes.

 Shop owner Fiona Fidow said the power of the shaking sent crockery crashing from her shelves.

 "This was very loud, very strong shaking," she told Fairfax Media's stuff.co.nz website.

 "All our china is smashed in our kiosk. The mall alarms are going off and the mall has been evacuated. Quite a few people are crying and hysterical. There are a lot of frightened people."

 There were no reports of injuries from the aftershock.

 AFP/de