Christchurch earthquake: Tsunami fears for residents

Building rubble is strewn across a street in Christchurch after a powerful earthquake. Photo / Getty Images

Terrified coastal residents fled to higher ground after yesterday's massive earthquake amid fears of a tsunami.

Westerly Gillespie, who lives in the Christchurch suburb of South Brighton, said fleeing drivers were panicked and roads had been ripped up with cracks 20cm wide appearing.

She said: "There were nutters tearing down the road and overtaking at ridiculous speeds.

"It brings out the best and worst in people. It felt like a B-grade disaster movie. I thought we were all going to die."

The main route out of South Brighton - a bridge near the estuary - was closed later in the morning with structural damage and residents feared they would be stranded.

One resident, Sara Gordon, said: "It's a worry that there's only two viable exits from the area and one of them broke."

Southshore couple Dulcie and Simon Brown grabbed their baby son Dylan and left.

"Yes, we thought it was best to go," said Dulcie.

"We checked the news [on the radio] and there were no warnings or anything. There were a lot of people leaving."

But Tim Sintes chose to stay in his home.

"I live right on the beach front. It felt like a local [inland] earthquake. A tsunami didn't come into my mind."