Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says crews are already out clearing roads, working on water systems and attending to the worst affected areas of liquefaction after two big earthquakes rocked the city yesterday.
He says Cantabrians would not have got much sleep during last night.
“It’s not going to be the day for Christmas Eve that everybody would have wanted but overall we’ve come through this amazingly well.
“Having said that there are a lot of people who are very shaken around today, it’s come as a big shock for people,” says Mr Parker.
Meanwhile, Labour's Lianne Dalziel says the biggest damage to Christchurch is psychological.
The Christchurch East MP says after a tough 12 months Cantabrians were looking forward to a peaceful Christmas break.
“If this had been earlier on in the year then I think they’d be still a little bit more resilient, but this is kind of like we’re almost at the end of the year, it couldn’t be a worse way to end the year really,” says Ms Dalziel.
She says the quake will mean a change to holiday plans for many.
RadioLIVE