The swarm of aftershocks sent another 100 people to the Christchurch's welfare centres overnight.
Residents either unable or too frightened to remain in their homes joined 250 people of all ages who were already dossing down in welfare centres.
An estimated 100,000 homes, out of the 160,000 in the Selwyn, Christchurch and Waimakariri districts, have been damaged, and it may be more than a year before they will be repaired.
More than 430 homes have been identified as needing to be demolished already - that number is expected to grow significantly.
Residents in the suburb of Bexley are bracing themselves for more evacuations after 100 homes were deemed unsafe yesterday.
Many families there are still without power and water and the army has been assessing the damaged homes.
Rosemary Dower lives on Page Rd, and says her doors won't open and shut and her walls are covered in cracks.
There have been about 250 quakes since the large 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday morning.
Seismologist Brian Ferris says a much larger one could still be on the way.
He says the aftershocks could continue for several weeks.