The earthquake that struck Kaikoura this week could cost the insurance industry as much as $5.3 billion.

Peter Dunne has echoed calls from the public to strip Destiny Church of its tax-exempt status.

They've received so many food and water parcels, Ivan says he can't take a shower because it's filled with bottles.

They're relocating paua by the tonne. About 40 tonnes were expected to have been cut free from the rocks along the Kaikoura coastline by this afternoon.

A huge landslide has filled a valley in the ranges of quake-stricken Kaikoura.

This could be the perfect postcard of rural New Zealand ... but this rural idyll has become the Ground Zero of Monday's mammoth magnitude-7.8 earthquake.

Nelson plasterer's bright idea sees plane land in quake-torn area laden with KFC, McDonald's burgers and pizza.

As Kaikoura reels from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, Murchison is buzzing.

A 27 truck military convoy battled poor weather and the threat of more landslides to deliver 8860ltrs of fuel and 10,000ltrs of water to Kaikoura today.

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.

Police are attending an incident in Roxburgh, Central Otago, that is believed to be firearms related.

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

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 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.

An alternative inland route for ferry traffic has been established running from Picton to Christchurch, via Murchison and the Lewis Pass.

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

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

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

The escalation of the Kaikoura Earthquake in magnitude from 7.5 to 7.8 now puts its power on a par with the equivalent energy release of 400 atomic bombs detonating.

The changes to the freight routes in and out of Canterbury have seen an 18 per cent increase in cost.

Civil Defence is warning that a 150m high dam is at risk of failure after heavy rain.

Fears today's storm will hamper clean-up efforts in regions devastated by this week's earthquake.

Oamaru's little blue penguins have become international sensations with a video of them using an underpass clocking thousands of views.

A multi-million dollar racing car test track situated near Monday's mega-quake epicentre is "pretty much ruined", says its Australian IT tycoon owner.

Prime Minister John Key has promised fast-track help to keep Kaikoura businesses on their feet.

Geotechnical engineers face an "unprecedented" challenge in tackling the many large landslides that have blocked quake-damaged Kaikoura's coastal State Highway 1.

The elevation of Monday's quake from a magnitude 7.5 to 7.8 makes it compare in size only with four other New Zealand quakes in the past 150 years.

It was a day of rescuing travellers stranded in Kaikoura and reassuring those left behind as the PM dropped in to survey the scene in Kaikoura today.