If you only have a minute and you want today's need-to-know earthquake news at a glance, this is the page for you.

Water restrictions have been lifted for Christchurch and Banks Peninsula but some Waimakariri residents must still boil their water and their river is contaminated.

APN News & Media, publisher of nzherald.co.nz, is today launching a nation-wide appeal for Christchurch earthquake victims.

Take me to the river.

Keeping water on the boil is part of the daily grind for a Christchurch coffee maker since the weekend's earthquake.

I write this by candlelight. Well not really. But days after the Canterbury earthquake I'm still shaking.

When the tremors return, residents at one Christchurch rest home band together with cups of tea and company.

Garth George writes that newspapers are delving deep and providing a lasting record, as our hearts go out to all Cantabrians.

At least 22 commercial properties and 50 homes in the small quake-damaged North Canterbury town of Kaiapoi have been deemed unsafe, with its mayor admitting the town is changed forever.

Most schools in the quake-devastated Canterbury region are not likely to open until Monday, the Education Minister says.

Follow the developing situation on day five of the Christchurch earthquake disaster.

The final bill for the Christchurch earthquake may reach $4 billion, almost double initial estimates, Treasury Secretary John Whitehead said afternoon.

Christchurch residents thought another earthquake had struck when a bus and rubbish truck collided in Burwood earlier today. Photo / Geoff Sloan

Find out how Christchurch services are functioning following Saturday's 7.1 quake and this morning's violent 5.1 aftershock

Aftershocks are continuing to hit Canterbury with one measuring 4.1 the latest in a series today that also included a 5.1.

Aerial photos reveal some of Christchurch's worst-hit buildings and streets still littered with rubble and broken glass.