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Water carrier cut off
An elderly man filling water bottles for himself and neighbours after Saturday's earthquake was told to stop by the petrol station boss.
Brenda Kingi-Booth, from the Christchurch suburb of Hoon Bay, said she felt "sick to her stomach" when she heard the manager had
stopped her step-father, John Dixon, from filling any more bottles.
The power and water to his street had been cut off.
"They were in one of the worst-hit areas. They had no power, water, phone or sewage," she said.
Butler Auto Mart manager Richard Dixon said Dixon had already filled at least five, three-litre juice containers when he stopped him. He would not comment further.
- Kieran Nash
Mercy dash
A woman has told how she was rushed to Christchurch Hospital in an ambulance, close to giving birth, as buildings collapsed around the vehicle.
Miriam Garcia said: "My contractions were five minutes apart during the quake, so we called 111. We just didn't know what the roads would be like."
Going through town in the ambulance was surreal, she said.
"People in the ambulance kept saying these buildings were falling down. I felt like I was in another country like India, not New Zealand."
She named her daughter Amelia Angeles: "Her name Angeles seemed appropriate since staff kept saying she's an angel coming among all this."
- Emma Geraghty
Family evicted from centre
About 30 disruptive people have been evicted from an earthquake relief centre after authorities discovered their homes were perfectly safe.
The people were members of a family group at the Addington welfare centre, some of whom were creating a nuisance and behaving unacceptably, Superintendent Dave Cliff said.
"Their addresses had been assessed by council engineers and found to be safe and secure," Cliff said.
The relief centres were for people without safe, alternative accommodation, to stay at for a few days until they made arrangements.
"We don't want people to expect to use the welfare centres as a more comfortable place to stay than their own homes."
- Barry Clarke
Dream home destroyed
Mark and Liz Prebble celebrated moving into their new home by toasting each other with a glass of wine. The next morning their dream was destroyed.
Yesterday, friends helped move the rest of their possessions out of their Kokopu Lane home in Bexley, one of the hardest hit suburbs.
"We're absolutely reeling," said Mark. "We're stressed; we're absolutely gutted." The Prebbles are living in a motel until they can find rental accommodation, which is now at a premium in Christchurch.
Many houses in the Bexley Pacific Park subdivision will be bulldozed.
"We don't know what will happen to our place but there are major foundation cracks so the chances are it will go," said Mark.
- Barry Clarke
Incredible journey
After cold nights lost in the rubble, there are scenes of joy as four-legged earthquake victims are reunited with their distraught owners.
Clyde, the Birman cat, spent four nights lost in a network of underground stormwater pipes.
"I was calling for him and calling for him, then just as I was about to give up I heard a meow responding to my calls," said Clare Martin . "I pulled the big, heavy grate off and lifted him up."
When Labrador Yo-Yo turned up on Zane Price's doorstep, he tracked down the owner using the online service Pets on the Net. But the next day Yo-Yo made the 3km journey again for another visit.
The reunions come as a charity opens a foodbank for pets.
- Celeste Gorrell Anstiss
Charging for showers
A Christchurch camping site has been called "mercenary" after it began charging neighbours $5 for showers. But the manager of the Top 10 Holiday Park in Meadow Park says she is helping people out by providing the showers and other support.
Other campgrounds have let quake victims shower free or at a reduced cost.
Resident Chris O'Regan, whose home has been demolished, said the charge was "mercenary". But Anderson said people could usually shower at the park only if they stayed the night.
The charge was necessary to conserve water and maintain security, she said, and she was donating pillowcases and campsites to people in need.
- Michael Dickison
God's wake-up call
The earthquake was a warning from God, according to a Christian church leader in Christchurch.
Reverend Sourial Sourial of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church said too many people had turned their backs on religion, and the quake was God's way of reminding them to return to church.
"This is a warning," he said. "People are too busy and too worried about material things. There are plenty of broken families and car accidents and natural disasters. These are messages from God."
Avonhead was one of the worst hit areas in the quake and Sourial's church suffered extensive damage. The front of the building collapsed and stained-glass windows broke.
- Celeste Gorrell Anstiss
Banding together
Earthquake survivors finally have something to look forward to: there are plans for a free outdoor fundraising concert in Hagley Park, featuring a glittering line-up including Opshop, Dane Rumble, Dave Dobbyn, the Feelers and possibly Shihad.
And mayor Bob Parker said he would ask Irish superband U2's management if they would extend their Auckland tour to Christchurch.
Band Together is the brainchild of Jason Kerrison, the lead singer of Opshop and a Christchurch local.
Herald on Sunday publisher APN News & Media has launched a nationwide earthquake appeal, and kicked it off with a $100,000 contribution. Donations can be made at www.nzherald.co.nz.
- Frances Morton
