At least 2 people were killed in the powerful earthquake which rocked the island country of New Zealand Sunday morning, Prime Minister John Key said during a news conference.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck near the city of near the city of Christchurch. Tremors from the quake were felt more than 120 miles away in the capital, Wellington.

The quake caused a tsunami warning for all of New Zealand's east coast, and aftershocks continued to rattle the country well into Monday.

A previous earthquake in the same area killed 185 people, despite being much weaker than Sunday's earthquake, at a magnitude of 6.3 on the richter scale.

Prime Minister Jon Key posted a video in which he surveyed the damage and spoke of the country's relief efforts.

"In the short term what we're trying to do is make sure that the people of Kaikoura and the likes have food, water, help and backup." Key said. "I'd say it's billions of dollars worth of money that we have to spend here but we're focused on what we're doing and we'll keep up the good work."