Christchurch 'like a ghost town' after earthquake

A building in central Christchurch is declared a no go zone after the earthquake. Photo / Simon Baker

The sky over central Christchurch was overcast this morning, as blustery nor'west winds and the occasional aftershock threatened to bring down buildings that were already unstable after yesterday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

There has been a general feeling of calm and quiet around the CBD, much of which is still closed off to the general public. Police and security staff remained stationed at cordons at many intersections, and very little traffic had been seen in the area that Prime Minister John Key had described as being like a "ghost town."

The only people on the streets were workmen in their high-visibility work gear, and a few media crews putting together stories for their audiences in New Zealand, Australia and China.

Much of the debris from the earthquake including bricks, concrete and steel that had been littered across the street has been cleared onto the footpath where glass shopfronts have been spraypainted with bright orange messages, indicating whether they are considered safe or unstable.

Mayor Bob Parker said earlier today that a decision had yet to be made on whether businesses in the CBD would be operating tomorrow. Safety assessments on buildings in the area are continuing today.

In many of the outer suburbs, people have been going about their business like they would on any other Sunday - the only real exception being that the city's major suburban shopping centres remained closed because of the earthquake's effects.