Hawkes Bay residents were jolted by an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale, just before 10am this morning.

Napier property owners given a year to get earthquake risk assessments on their buildings are likely to have the deadline extended another two years because there aren't enough structural engineers to do the work.

Disaster tourism in Christchurch's worst-hit eastern suburbs has been slammed by residents as totally insensitive and exploitative, new research shows.

New Zealand and Japan have vowed to increase cooperation on earthquake engineering and disaster recovery following the devastating quakes which struck both nations.

Christchurch was shaken awake by a magnitude 3.5 earthquake this morning.

Post-earthquake demand for free legal service at Community Law Canterbury has skyrocketed, making the legal centre the biggest of its kind in the country.

The quake occurred at 5.19am local time (4.19am NZT), 287km southwest of Nuku'alofa, at a depth of 171km.

Meet the carboot lawyer who wings in and out of Christchurch with a huge caseload on behalf of desperate quake-struck homeowners.

A powerful earthquake struck the steep hills of China's southwestern Sichuan province, leaving over 150 people dead and more than 5,500 injured.

A Kiwi living in Sichuan has described watching a 15-storey hotel sway wildly and naked people run on to the street as a powerful earthquake struck the Chinese province.