New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key has indicated that the country will have to pay billions of dollars for damage caused by Monday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake. But officials and economists say the government's strong balance sheet means it will have little trouble footing the bill.

Hundreds of aftershocks, including the strongest a 6.2 quake, rattled the South Pacific country.

Residents in the capital Wellington have begun cleanup work. The city council has assessed the risk to damaged buildings and dispatched emergency response teams by helicopter. One Chinese citizen was reportedly among the wounded.