Earthquakes

The earthquakes caused turmoil for families as schools and early childhood centres closed in much of the lower North Island and upper South Island. Audio

Tim Bennett was on the Interislander ferry when the earthquake struck. He describes how the quake felt on the water and how it took hours before he could go onshore.  Audio

The national controller for Civil Defence has warned people should brace themselves for days of strong aftershocks following last night's 7.5 earthquake centred near Hanmer Springs Audio

Two Kaikoura residents have been airlifted to Christchurch for medical treatment following the earthquake. Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says health services are managing. Audio

Prime Minister John Key says the damage to Kaikoura and the surrounding areas is much worse than he first thought. He's just returned from an aerial survey of the area. Audio

Anthea Prentice lives in Hundalee, just south of Kaikoura. She says the quake felt as if "giant hands" were shaking her house, which she believes is beyond repair. Audio

GNS seismologist Bill Fry joins Checkpoint to discuss the 7.5 magnitude earthquake this morning, and the aftershocks which have followed. Audio

A 7.5 quake which struck near Culverden, North Canterbury, just after midnight has caused significant damage, killed two people and closed roads. RNZ reporter Andrew McCrae has the latest. Audio

Graeme Langford the Red Cross's North Island Disaster management officer. Audio

The regional council owns the port... what kind of damage is there? Audio

Many people in coastal areas got evacuated last night, including Jaqueline Le Cren. Audio

Grant Burdett is the fire chief at the Cheviot volunteer fire brigade. Volunteers have been out attending downed chimneys, and that kind of thing. Cheviot is 114 ks north of Christchurch and about… Audio

The Interislander ferry docking was aborted last night, with about 20 passengers stranded on board. The Kaiarahi had left Wellington at about 9pm and was coming into Picton just as the earthquake… Audio

RNZ has managed to get some reporters into Kaikoura via Helicopter. They got a good look at the extent of the slips and damage from above. Tim Graham is with us. Audio

We've had quite a few texts and emails from listeners about their experiences of the quake, including Tom from Nelson, who had something quite interesting to share. Audio

Residents in North Canterbury, South Marlborough and Wellington have been without power following last night's quake. Greg Skelton is the chief exective of Wellington Electricity Lines. Audio