Wellington, Sept 4 NZPA - The magnitude 7.1 earthquake which struck Canterbury about 4.30am today rates among the top dozen to hit New Zealand.

The quake 40km west of Christchurch was at an epicentre 10km southeast of Darfield and 20km south-east of Coalgate.

It caused widespread damage because of its shallow depth, 10km. There have been a lot of aftershocks, some of them over magnitude 5.

Other notable New Zealand have included the 6.8 magnitude Gisborne quake of December 20, 2007, which was offshore but caused buildings to collapse in the Gisborne CBD, and 20 years before, Edgecumbe's 6.5 quake on March 2, 1987, which was also very destructive because of its shallowness.

The top quakes of modern times include:

* 8.2, Wairarapa, January 23, 1855 -- The most severe earthquake in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840.

* 7.8, Fiordland, July 16, 2009 -- only 12km deep and on the coastline at Milford near Dusky Sound: the largest earthquake since the 1931 Napier earthquake. The biggest aftershock was a magnitude 6.1 that occurred 20 minutes after the main shock.

* 7.8, Napier, February 3, 1931 -- The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake caused the largest loss of life and most extensive damage of any recorded NZ quake.

* 7.8, Murchison, June 17, 1929 -- The massive rumbling of the 1929 Buller earthquake was heard as far away as New Plymouth.

* 7.8, Marlborough, October 16, 1848 -- This was the largest in a cluster of earthquakes that hit central NZ that year.

* 7.6, Pahiatua, March 5 1934 -- Also known as the Horoeka earthquake, it shook the lower North Island and was felt as far away as Auckland and Dunedin.

* 7.2, Wairarapa 1, June 24, 1942 -- severely rocked the lower North Island during World War 2, causing extensive damage to local buildings.

* 7.1, Inangahua, May 24, 1968 - The Inangahua earthquake killed three people and was felt over much of the country.

* 7.1, North Canterbury, September 1, 1888 -- the Amuri District was shaken by a large earthquake with severe intensities of ground-shaking

* 7.1 Canterbury Sept 4, 2010 - Shallow quake 10km deep and 40km west of Christchurch, with widespread damage and some injuries.

* 7.0, Wairarapa 2, August 2, 1942 -- The shock that struck on August 2 was nearly as severe as the disastrous June 24 earthquake five weeks earlier.