Christchurch earthquake: Tale of a damaged city

Photo / Cory Stewart

It struck in the wee small hours, a rumbling roar and intense swaying that lasted for the best part of a minute.

Christchurch was a city paralysed today after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the city at 4.35am.

Historic buildings came crashing down, power was severed and minor injuries were reported.

The quake was centred 30km west of Christchurch and 33km underground.

Caught up in the drama was the Bay of Plenty rugby team, who last night lost 28-9 to Canterbury.

Their central-city hotel was evacuated, though all players and management were uninjured.

"I was in the Gisborne earthquake a couple of years ago and this was much worse than that," technical advisor Paul Feeney said, while players huddled under blankets in the hotel foyer.

"I was staying with my partner and mum in another hotel but as soon as it happened, we came back to the team hotel to be around people we knew," reserve hooker Simon Chisholm said.

"Now we're just pretty keen to get home."

That could take some time. Airport staff spent the morning turning people away, with the control tower and terminal reportedly suffering damage.

Outside with the dawn, as aftershocks continued, the damage soon became evident.

While most modern buildings survived intact, many heritage buildings in the city centre lost chimneys or their entire frontages.

The suburb of Avonside suffered extensive damage, with streets closed and piles of rubble scattered over footpaths.

Water pipes burst, the wail of car alarms and sirens filling the void of a city immobilised and shut down.

The first reports of looting came within half an hour of the first shock. A block from the Steamers hotel, a ute pulled up to a liquor store and its occupants smashed their way in. Witnesses say they grabbed several boxes of beer and took off.

Police arrived quickly, responding to several similar calls, while worried shop-owners huddled in doorways with torches to prevent further attacks.

Sewer lines had been damaged and there had been considerable damage to at least 20 roads, with some impassable, including Sumner Road.

* For more local information on the earthquake, click here.