New Zealand businesses are stepping up and helping out Christchurch earthquake victims.

Telecom shares fell 6 per cent after it missed out on being named for priority talks in the Government's $1.5b ultra-fast broadband plan.

The battle to win $1.8b of government money now features in TV advertisements - although I imagine many watching them will be left scratching their heads.

Christchurch was "inevitably going to be brought to its knees" by an earthquake because of the nature of the ground it stands on, a scientist says.

"It's essentially a ghost town. You can see utter devastation," said Prime Minister John Key.

"It was like a giant had picked up our house and was just shaking it, shaking and shaking," said one resident.

Services and infrastructure in Christchurch have been seriously affected by this morning's quake. Here is the current situation.

Telecom boss Paul Reynolds has had $2 million from his annual bonus slashed.