He became an overnight celebrity when TV crews captured him tossing aside concrete slabs like Lego to rescue strangers.

When the tower of Christchurch Cathedral fell in Tuesday's massive earthquake, the people of Canterbury lost one of the enduring symbols of our province.

Jo Nicholls-Parker has taken her role as mayoress seriously in the wake of the earthquake

CTV survivor Mary-Ann Jackson tells of terror and heartbreak at loss of loved colleagues.

John Key has met people "full of fear" over the fate of missing family members after Tuesday's Christchurch quake.

The official death toll for the Christchurch earthquake has risen to 145 this evening and is expected to increase. Police are gravely concerned for more than 200 missing people.

More than 600 patients have been admitted to Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department since the earthquake, including 164 with serious injuries.

"Entire blocks" of the Christchurch CBD will need to be demolished in the wake of the earthquake, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says.

The death toll from the Christchurch earthquake now stands at 123 and is expected to rise further today, police say.

Key stories on day five of the Christchurch earthquake.

The doctors who amputated a man's legs to save him from almost certain death worked in the dark.

Looking at what remains of the six-storey building I can't believe my eyes as the first survivor is pulled out.

It's obvious that mere amateurism will not help our second-largest city up on its feet this time.

Families of 27 Japanese students thought to be buried beneath the flattened CTV building are praying for a miracle.

Weekend Herald writer Phil Taylor takes to his bike to view the devastation in Christchurch.

Ann Bodkin kept up hope during her 26 hours entombed in the PGC building by thinking over and over 'I'm alive. I'm okay'.

Amid the tragedy and debris it feels harsh to talk about economics and daunting to talk about getting Christchurch back to business.