Police and security staff are worrying about the possible further collapse of building facades.

Personnel at the PGC building in Christchurch have switched their focus from trying to find survivors to recovering the dead, the company says.

The family of a woman feared dead in the earthquake has suffered another cruel blow with her home being burgled while her children waited for news.

Search and rescue staff are moving into the suburbs of Christchurch looking for the dead and injured from Tuesday's earthquake. The official death toll this morning stands at 72.

Prime Minister John Key has not ruled out imposing an earthquake levy similar to the flood levy brought in Queensland.

It was one of many emotional scenes at the domestic terminal of Auckland Airport as loved ones were reunited

Christchurch hospitals are busy but coping as patient numbers swell from the earthquake.

Murray John Wood's day job was managing director of Canterbury Television. But outside his office he would often be found hammering the keys of his piano around the Garden City.

Tattoo apprentice Matthew Stuart McEachen (Matti) died as Southern Ink Tattoo in Manchester St came crashing to the ground.

At least 14 were still trapped and facing a second cold and lonely night in the mangled PGG building.

Hope is fading for hundreds of people missing for a second night after the Christchurch earthquake.

Dozens are missing or confirmed dead in an earthquake that could have claimed as many as 300. Here are some of the stories of the victims.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday saw for himself the grim situation confronting earthquake survivors.

Philip John McDonald (Phil), 57, an accountant with Leech and Partners, was working at the firm's offices in the Pyne Gould Corporation building in Cambridge Terrace when the earthquake struck.