A young woman was later able to laugh at being in a state of undress in a shop’s changing room as the quake struck.
As people drove to check on friends or family, drove to higher ground in fear of a tsunami, or went rubber-necking, Gisborne’s roads resembled Queen Street at 5pm.
Reporters and photographers at a Christmas function at The Gisborne Herald suddenly found themselves in town working on the story of the year.
Sky Australia televisionThose who still had power at home had the unusual experience of watching Gisborne live on Sky Australia television.
Within hours of the earthquake, centred 40 kilometres down and 50km south-east of Gisborne, the inner city was cordoned off and a state of emergency declared.
Engineers, building inspectors and search and rescue staff poured into Gisborne to help.
The exterior of every CBD building was checked.
In a first for a New Zealand civil defence emergency, buildings were allocated a green, yellow or red sticker to indicate if the building was able to open, was awaiting further inspection or was “no-go”.
The stickers were later to become a familiar sight to Kiwis following the Christchurch earthquakes.
Damaged sites included Wyllie Cottage, the Cenotaph, the multi-storey Marina View Apartments, Holy Trinity and St Andrew’s churches, Health 2000, the Bernina Sewing Centre and city homes.
Shops and supermarkets were left with stock lying on the floor, while thousands of books erupted from shelves at H.B. Williams Memorial library.
More than 6000 domestic claims totalled $26 million, while damage to commercial properties pushed costs past $50m.
The 6.3 earthquake was more powerful than other Gisborne quakes in recent memory, a 6.3 recorded in 1993 and 6.0 in 1966.
Another such earthquake striking Gisborne is a case of when, not if.
