A Chinese tourist trapped in the worst-hit town of Kaikoura receives interview of Xinhua News Agency, in Kaikoura, New Zealand, Nov. 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

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.

Wellington was a virtual ghost town with workers ordered to stay away while the city council assessed the risk to buildings, several of which were damaged by the tremor.

Hundreds of aftershocks, the strongest a magnitude-6.2 quaked at about 1:45 pm, rattled the South Pacific country, fraying nerves in an area where memories of a deadly 2011 quake are still fresh.

State of emergency

Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand's ruggedly beautiful South Island, is still recovering from the magnitude-6.3 quake in 2011 that killed 185 people.

New Zealand's Civil Defense declared a state of emergency for the Kaikoura region, centered on a tourist town about 150 km northeast of Christchurch, soon after Monday's large aftershock.

"Our immediate priority is ensuring delivery of clean water, food and other essentials to the residents of Kaikoura and the estimated 1,000 tourists in the town," Brownlee said.