Christchurch quake: Witness accounts

Photo / @matwiseman via Twitpic

Readers have been sharing their experiences of what happened during the 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch.

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Helen Leggatt: Bloody awful here near Sheffield - house rolled up and down and shook violently for a good 10 seconds or more. Husband in town has no power. I am a shaking wreck.

Beth Houlbrooke: Husband was on phone to IRD in Chch when quake hit. The guy he was talking to just went "WHOAHH!" and then dropped the phone. He heard women screaming in the background, then phone went dead.

Therese Berg: I live in Rangiora, grabbed the kids in hysteria and run out side on the foothpath were I collapse and thankfully my lovely neighbours were home to support my nervous breakdown.

Shirley Wan: I am in Dunedin. When the earthquake struck i was on the 8th floor of our building and it swayed heavily for atleast 10 sec. At that point I knew Christchurch must have been hit hard.

Jan Basill: At 12.50 I was standing in my kitchen in Carters Beach near Westport when the oven started shaking, and the ground starting swaying. More stronger than the last. I ran and stood under the doorframe

Andy Nordqvist: I was helping to refurbish the Ashburton Clock Tower, 22 metres up when the first earthquake struck. We got down pretty fast.

Jeff Allen: I was on the phone to State Insurance making a claim!!! and the girl on the line started stuttering then i heard people screaming and loud smashing sounds she scremed out this is the biggest yet it went on for some time with alot of screaming and crashing she apologised and said that she had to go.

Melissa Chilton: My workmate and I work on the 4th floor at SBS Bank Head Office. We noticed the quake start shortly before one with the building creaking audibly a few times, while the pot plants and ferns all shook and swayed and the office door wobbled back and forth a little. It went on for about a minute and I thought hell - that's a biggy in Fiordland! Then the alert came online that it was in fact Christchurch. I knew this one was serious to feel it this strongly in Invercargill. My heart and wishes go out to everyone and those who have suffered serious loss of a family member or friend. Dear lord when will it stop?!

Jennifer Eder: I was in a lecture theatre building at canterbury university when the first quake hit, class had just been let out and the foyer was full of students, and the whole building shook, students were slipping down the stairs, ceiling panels were falling from the two-story high ceiling, and one guy was holding the door open very calmly while screaming students rushed outside - I remember being very impressed by him. Fire alarms were going off in a computer science building as well as in another one on the other side of the uni. students were shepherded to the ilam fields but many students milled around the bus stops until we realised buses were no longer running. the second aftershock hit while i was outside and i saw one parked car rolling between the two cars on either side. Students everywhere were bursting into tears and hugging each other, traffic was back to back and i overheard one international student exclaim that they were heading home.

Sonya Hoffman: Felt worse than Sept 4. bookcase came off wall above where I was sitting.

Samuel Dysart: Just felt it. Hit the lyttleton harbour. We are on the ship hmnzs canterbury. It was quite a shake.

Catherine Elizabeth Hoekendijk: Felt huge. Everything smashed, furniture upturned. Very scary.

Pauline Settle: In Rangiora and it felt huge - hope Christchurch is OK.

Jo Manson: Felt like it picked up and shook the Canterbury university library.

Lynda Whitlow: biggie in Rangiora, parents in shirley have broken watermain in st things fell down out here in Rangoon that didn't fall in Sep. House more cracks.

Viv Richardson: Husband working in oxford he was driving had to stop 2 of them in 6 mins

Joanne Ah Kuoi: "I was looking at the footpath and it looked like the road was rolling. I saw two dead bodies just lying there. The city's in turmoil."

Aaron Wayne: "My wife explained to me that she was in the Les Mills gym and that she watched the building next door come down...We rode into town on our pushbikes and we saw the devastation."

Jaydn Katene: "When it hit we were knocked to our feet. Everything in the house fell down. Nothing was left still standing."