Just a few days ago, Waiau was cut off from civilisation.

Statistics NZ boss Liz MacPherson was unusually blunt for a Wellington bureaucrat as she assessed the damage to her department's headquarters.

The toll Monday's earthquake has had on Wellington is coming to light after at least four more buildings in the central city were evacuated yesterday.

COMMENT: On the morning of Monday November 14, 2016, the best little city in the world got ripped apart.

Lying on the ground next to Kaikoura Highschool's gymnasium wall was a pile of fractured concret bricks.

"We are expecting a difficult crossing tomorrow so we're making sure everyone is well refreshed and rested."

The Defence Force has now evacuated more than 800 people from Kaikoura.

Hanmer Springs locals and business owners are amazed that the alpine tourist village near the epicentre of Monday's massive earthquake has escaped any major damage.

Kaikoura schools are in generally good shape and some may be able to open next week, according to the Ministry of Education.

Eight properties in Marlborough have been identified as being too badly damaged to be entered.

BNZ's Harbour Quays building won't reopen for months following damage to CentrePort in the 7.8 earthquake.

Whale Watch Kaikoura is overwhelmed by the support they have received following a temporary closure after Monday's quake.

New concerns that heavy rain could bring flooding to the east coast of the South Island.

Reading Car Park building on Wakefield Street has just been added to the list of buildings with serious structural damage. There are now three buildings with this classification. Tristram Clayton is at the scene as residents are asked to evacuate.

The road into Waiau will be "average" for some time, locals say, but the community is already rebuilding their lives after Monday's devastating earthquake.

A petition against Destiny Church's tax-free status is gaining momentum - with 102,000 signatures and climbing.

Residents of Collina Terrace in Central Wellington have been allowed to briefly return to their houses to collect essential possessions.

A Civil Defence helicopter made a nappy run to a remote part of Marlborough to bring supplies to a family with a young baby who have been cut off.

Power, water and road access is slowly being restored to earthquake-hit areas of the South Island as crews work around the clock.

Residents of Collina Terrace in Central Wellington have been allowed to briefly return to their houses to collect essential possessions.

Cordons have been reduced in quake-damaged Wellington but the fate of dozens of buildings is still unclear. Our reporter Tristram Clayton is at the scene.

The probability of another plus-7 magnitude quake within the next month has fallen - but the chances of multiple large aftershocks remains a virtual certainty.

Services slowly return to normal across Marlborough but many still advised to boil water.

Science reporter Jamie Morton talks to GNS Science earthquake geologist Dr Rob Langridge, who has been on the ground mapping damage around Marlborough.

Strong aftershocks continue.

There are going to be a lot of fit office workers in Wellington with the city's 2500 needing surveying.

Questions are being asked about why key government buildings in Wellington have been impacted so badly, as concerns about more buildings emerge.

Psychotherapist Kyle MacDonald discusses how we can best respond to those living through the earthquakes, and why it's okay to let yourself be afraid.

A truck driver has described the inland road into Kaikoura as being like Russian roulette.

Kaikoura locals are beginning to join the exodus out of their quake ravaged settlement. With 1000 tourists successfully evacuated