The Canterbury SPCA has taken in more than 150 pets from people displaced by the earthquake and has promised to care for them until they can be taken back.

A distraught wife has left her husband after telling him he did not pick her up quickly enough after the earthquake.

Adrian Marsh thought he was dead after he was crushed by slabs of concrete when the Smiths City carpark collapsed around him.

Christchurch's devastating 6.3 earthquake is thought to have been caused by the rupturing of a single fault.

Christchurch can be rebuilt in a way that buildings would withstand very strong earthquakes in the future, Prime Minister John Key says.

Thousands of Christchurch's 350,000 inhabitants have left in droves, flying, driving, even walking away, with no plans to return any time soon.

In her last moments in the CTV building receptionist Dian Falconer prayed. Knowing that made her loss a little easier to bear, daughter Tere-moana Wilson said.

Emotion is fine but cool heads are needed for Christchurch's rebuilding, writes Chris Rattue.

Trapped in excruciating pain for hours while pinned under a concrete wall, Brian Coker wanted a "decent aftershock to finish it". Instead, the 52-year-old says his wife saved by alerting rescue teams to his plight.

New Zealand could make much greater use of satellite images, says Southland group.

John Key indicated last night that Earthquake Commission levies could triple because of the damage caused by the Christchurch earthquake.

Authorities in Nelson are working hard to accommodate fleeing Christchurch residents.

A leading structural engineer says our cities may have been "a little passive" about strengthening our buildings.