Christchurch rocked by earthquake: Latest News | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Christchurch has been left devastated after a massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck 30km west of the city at 4.35am this morning.

The quake was at a depth of 33km and was centred near Darfield, and has left large parts of the area without power, water or telephones.

Several roads have been blocked by debris after the frontages of several buildings collapsed onto the streets, leaving their interiors visible and the central city resembling a war zone.

Large groups of onlookers have gathered to survey the damage and take pictures with their cameras and mobile phones, prompting wardens dressed in high-visibility gear to ask them to stay clear of the buildings in case aftershocks cause further collapses.

Traffic lights are still not working in several places around the central city, creating gridlock as the traffic flow increases.

Police say Christchurch CBD will be closed until tomorrow while assessment of damaged buildings is carried out.

The University of Canterbury and Lincoln University are both currently closed while their campuses are assessed for health and safety issues, and will not reopen until Monday September 13.

PM surveys city

Prime Minister John Key has completed a flyover of Christchurch and headed into a meeting with mayor Bob Parker and Civil Defence officials.

He is being accompanied by local MPs Gerry Brownlee and David Carter, and Civil Defence Minister John Carter.

Mr Key said he was visiting in "solidarity" with the people of Christchurch and to assess the damage caused by this morning's 7.1 earthquake for himself.

Mr Key said it was a sad day for the South Island.

Mayor's advice for people affected by the quake

Mayor Bob Parker has just warned residents to conserve water after fears the water infrastructure of Christchurch may have been affected by the 7.4 magnitude earthquake.

There are fears the sewerage system may have been damaged.
Engineers are checking the City infrastructure now.

Mr Parker told Newstalk ZB that the morning had been "pretty traumatic."

He said that people were being taken to Christchurch Hospital for emergency treatment, and he although he had not heard any reports of serious injuries, he said "It wouldn't surprise me if there were some."

Mr Parker urged Cantabrians affected by the earthquake to check on their neighbours to ensure they were safe.

A state of emergency has not yet been declared, he said.

"It was just a massive noise"

Knee Doherty said she was asleep in her central Christchurch home when the building next door collapsed.

"We didn't even notice the movement as much as the noise," she said.

"The back of the house is pretty much gone. All the house next door is gone. It was just a massive noise."

"A scary sight to see"

New Zealand Herald reporter Jarrod Booker,who lives in the central Christchurch suburb of Linwood, said he was woken by "extremely violent shaking."

"Items were falling and crashing around the house. It was extremely violent shaking."

He said the chimney from his next door neighbour's house had fallen and smashed through the windscreen of a car.

"There have been a number of aftershocks of a much lesser degree since then."

Mr Booker's partner, Kineta Knight, said it was a scary sight to see.

"The entire chimney landed on my car. It completely smashed the windscreen. I heard something falling and I thought it was a pole. The whole thing was in really slow motion.

She said it was quite alarming at how close to danger they were.

"I wouldn't have liked to have been in my car when it happened."

"The scariest thing was the quake just felt like it would never end. It wasn't a sharp, sudden jolt. It was like being on a rollercoaster."

"Things were smashing everywhere, we could hear glass breaking."

Ms Knight said there was rubble everywhere and alarms were going off.

"People have been driving around the streets looking at the damage."

"The building has been flattened"

Newstalk ZB reporter Craig Kerr spoke to Auckland host Pat Brittenden from the Christchurch office, which he said had sustained damage.

"Basically, the place is destroyed. Desks that were standing up are flattened against the ground. The filing cabinets are tipped over. The lifts in the building are obviously out of action."

"The building just along the road from us here has been flattened - it's on the ground," he said.

"Once daylight arrives, I think the extent of the damage is going to be fairly significant."

House "turned upside down"

A Timaru resident told NZPA he was awakened by the shaking. His house was groaning and a bedside lamp crashed off its table.

Radio New Zealand said listeners were reporting particularly strong effects in Christchurch, with one saying his house "turned upside down" with crockery breaking.

What to do if you're in Christchurch:

All Christchurch Hospitals are operational, though people are asked to only come into hospital if it is an emergency.

Christchurch Airport is closed. A spokesman said they are waiting for daylight to assess possible damage. They expect to reopen by 10am.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said no destructive widespread tsunami threat existed based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generated local tsunamis that could be destructive along coasts located within 100km of the earthquake epicentre, it said.

Civil Defence asked people to assess their home or workplace for damage; look for and extinguish small fires if safe to do so; and not overflow the phone lines with non-emergency calls. Check on your elderly neighbours.