A major construction company involved in the Christchurch rebuild says it uses migrant workers because it they are cheaper than local builders.

Experts say the injury toll in Wellington from Sunday's quake would've been higher had it struck on a weekday, as an aftershock plague continues.

An Auckland couple are fighting to bring their sick baby home after she was born three months early on a stopover in China.

Precinct Properties NZ, with 10 Wellington office blocks worth more than $600 million, has been hammered by insurance premium rises.

More than 1000 claims have been lodged with the Earthquake Commission following the swarm of quakes centred off the Seddon coast.

The next few days will be a trying time for many in Wellington, but people are being urged to remember that children in particular need special attention at this time.

The Cook Strait earthquakes may have occurred on an unmapped fault line, seismologists believe.

Tired and frustrated domestic air travellers were stuck at Auckland Airport yesterday for up to six hours after thick fog grounded flights.

Wellington's earthquakes have put the spotlight back on seismic issues.

Insurance companies are refusing policies to new customers in central New Zealand after Sunday's 6.5 earthquake.

Former Christchurch resident Angela Senior and her three young daughters were in Marlborough for the school holidays when the Sunday evening quake hit.

At Wellington's post-earthquake rush-hour, its central business district was filled only with pigeons and lonely security guards.

Joan Dodson spent the night in a four-wheel-drive vehicle and has not been back inside her damaged home since Sunday's quake.

Wellington's shipping and cargo port will remain in business this week, as work to clean debris caused by the big quake begins.

Wellington's mayor is hopeful it will be business as normal tomorrow despite 35 buildings in the CBD found to have been externally damaged by yesterday's severe earthquake.

Scientists are deploying extra seismic instruments in Marlborough to enable more accurate measurement of the aftershocks off the coast of Seddon.

"Major journalistic fail," wrote one commenter after an American website reported yesterday's big quake was felt in Seddon -in Victoria, Australia.

Livestream of the media conference following the Wellington earthquake.

Buildings in Wellington's central city continue to be assessed for structural damage in the wake of a powerful earthquake that hit the middle of the country yesterday. The 6.5 magnitude quake, which struck in the Cook Strait just after 5pm, shattered windows, damaged facades, cracked a road and caused reclaimed waterfront land to fall into the harbour.

Wellington rail services have resumed following inspections for earthquake-related damage.

Russell Duncan a NewstalkZB sales rep shows a clean pair of heels in the Wellington office as the 6.5 quake shakes up his afternoon.

Residents of Seddon react to the earthquake and aftershocks that continue to plague Wellington and the top of the South Island after yesterday's 6.5 magnitude jolt which struck in the Cook Strait at 5.09pm. More than 100 aftershocks have been recorded since, including a 5.0 which hit 15km east of Seddon at 10.47 this morning.

Prime Minister says he's yet to get a briefing on how much yesterday's quake might have cost, but, in principle, the country can afford another big one.

NewstalkZB filmed inside the Seddon Town Hall which lost internal roofing during the 6.5 earthquake on Sunday.