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BBC MUNDO RADIO
10:31am UK, Tuesday February 22, 2011
People in Christchurch have told Sky News of their shock and horror after a deadly earthquake devastated parts of the New Zealand city.
At least 65 people have been killed and around 200 others are feared trapped in collapsed buildings.
Jo Kane, who lives on the outskirts of the southern city, said she felt like an "opossum in the headlights".
"This has shaken me to the core, I'm really concerned about friends that I haven't been able to get in contact with in the city.
"I've rung people whose homes were already damaged (in the last earthquake) and people are just really shocked, absolutely quite shell-shocked.
"Their houses are worse, there is no sewage, no water and they are just in darkness."
Jo Kane, Christchurch residentI'm a Wellington girl and I grew up with earthquakes, but I'm telling you I'm sitting here with an expression like an opossum in the headlights.
She added: "You do not expect this to happen twice, but that is what this city has got.
"This is a very serious situation for New Zealand.
"I'm a Wellington girl and I grew up with earthquakes, but I'm telling you I'm sitting here with an expression like an opossum in the headlights.
"It's the shallowness of the quake that has caused so much damage, but there are still many of us waiting for the people out of the city to come back home.
"The aftershocks are very very strong.
"We are very lucky we have still got power here.
"There are people trapped in buildings and we don't yet know what the death toll could be."
Dave Ireland Tells Of Quake Devastation
:: Dave Ireland is in Christchurch as part of a British tennis team participating in the World Team Championships.
He said: "We were opposite the tennis centre (when the earthquake struck) where everyone was playing, thankfully outside and before we knew it, the ground started to shake aggressively and cracks appeared.
Dave Ireland, British tennis player in ChristchurchThe main tennis centre building, which has eight or nine indoor courts, started to shake like a paper building and it was pretty scary stuff.
"The main tennis centre building, which has eight or nine indoor courts started to shake like a paper building and it was pretty scary stuff.
"As far as tennis goes in Christchurch now (our tournament) is over.
"One of our team was mid-rally when the quake struck and he was running for a ball and took a tumble and grazed his knee.
"Someone in the kitchen was serving and the hot water machine came off the wall and he was burnt quite badly on his arm, but thankfully nothing too serious.
"At the tennis centre everything was down. There was a lot of water coming up from underground, from the main sewage pipes.
"We are on a road now where one side has got no electricity at all, but it is hit and miss really. It depends where you are.
"I think a lot of the more serious injuries were downtown.
"The courts are ripped up - even now as you can imagine there are lots of cracks in the ground.
"As far as we are concerned, we are sort of coming to terms with the fact that the competition is over before it started really."
Sky News TV And Video
Witnesses Tell Of Christchurch Quake Terror
The earthquake that hit Christchurch in New Zealand has devastated the homes and livelihoods of thousands.
:: Listen to Jo Kane, who lives near Christchurch, talk about the devastation the quake has caused.
At least 65 people have been killed and around 200 others are feared trapped in collapsed buildings.
Here they tell Sky News their stories.
Jo Kane, who lives on the outskirts of the southern city, said she felt like an "opossum in the headlights".
"This has shaken me to the core, I'm really concerned about friends that I haven't been able to get in contact with in the city.
"I've rung people whose homes were already damaged (in the last earthquake) and people are just really shocked, absolutely quite shell-shocked.
"Their houses are worse, there is no sewage, no water and they are just in darkness."
She added: "You do not expect this to happen twice, but that is what this city has got.
"This is a very serious situation for New Zealand.
"I'm a Wellington girl and I grew up with earthquakes, but I'm telling you I'm sitting here with an expression like an opossum in the headlights.
"It's the shallowness of the quake that has caused so much damage, but there are still many of us waiting for the people out of the city to come back home.
"The aftershocks are very very strong.
"We are very lucky we have still got power here.
"There are people trapped in buildings and we don't yet know what the death toll could be."
:: Dave Ireland is in Christchurch as part of a British tennis team participating in the World Team Championships.
He said: "We were opposite the tennis centre (when the earthquake struck) where everyone was playing, thankfully outside and before we knew it, the ground started to shake aggressively and cracks appeared.
"The main tennis centre building, which has eight or nine indoor courts started to shake like a paper building and it was pretty scary stuff.
"As far as tennis goes in Christchurch now (our tournament) is over.
"One of our team was mid-rally when the quake struck and he was running for a ball and took a tumble and grazed his knee.
"Someone in the kitchen was serving and the hot water machine came off the wall and he was burnt quite badly on his arm, but thankfully nothing too serious.
"At the tennis centre everything was down. There was a lot of water coming up from underground, from the main sewage pipes.
"We are on a road now where one side has got no electricity at all, but it is hit and miss really. It depends where you are.
"I think a lot of the more serious injuries were downtown.
"The courts are ripped up - even now as you can imagine there are lots of cracks in the ground.
"As far as we are concerned, we are sort of coming to terms with the fact that the competition is over before it started really."
(c) Sky News 2011
Britons describe NZ quake 'chaos'
17 mins ago
British nationals caught up in a deadly earthquake that killed more than 65 people on New Zealand's South Island have spoken of the chaos and devastation following the crippling natural disaster.
Related photos / videos
The powerful 6.3-magnitude quake struck around six miles outside Christchurch during lunchtime, causing widespread destruction and injury.
Eyewitnesses said the three-mile deep tremor, believed to be an aftershock from a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck last September, levelled high-rise buildings, tore up footpaths and sprayed rubble onto the streets below. A state of emergency has been declared in the city with collapsed debris and buildings trapping an unknown number of people.
British backpacker Christopher Ratcliffe, 27, was forced to shelter under a desk in a Christchurch library when the quake struck.
"When I came outside the city looked like a bomb had hit it. There was dust and smoke in the air and bits of glass and rubble falling from the tops of buildings. People were walking around covered in blood and in tears - it was just shocking," the traveller from Sutton Coldfield said.
Barnaby Luck, from Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, was in a hostel when the disaster hit: "Everything started shaking and it became more and more violent - it was like someone had got hold of the building and was shaking it and swinging it back and forwards - so I just jumped under my bunk bed."
The Foreign Office said it was "urgently" seeking information about British casualties. It is not know if any Britons are among the dead.
The UK's Department of Foreign Affairs has activated its Consular Crisis Centre to deal with public queries relating to the earthquake. The helpline number is 01 418 0222.
Christchurch was still recovering for an earthquake that hit in September last year which caused an estimated four billion New Zealand dollars in damage. A strong aftershock in December caused further damage to buildings. The city was still rebuilding from those quakes when the latest one hit.
Prime minister John Key held an emergency Cabinet meeting then rushed to the stricken city. "It is a just a scene of utter devastation," he said, before revealing the death toll was 65, and may rise. "This may be New Zealand's darkest day," he told a local news channel.
New Zealand earthquake: UK tourists tell of devastation
• Passers-by survey damage caused by the Christchurch earthquake.
Barnaby Luck, from Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, was in a hostel when the disaster hit at 12.51pm local time.
"I was in my dorm room sorting some of my stuff out and knew what it was straight away, as we have had a few aftershocks in recent weeks," he said.
"Everything started shaking and it became more and more violent - it was like someone had got hold of the building and was shaking it and swinging it back and forwards - so I just jumped under my bunk bed."
The 29-year-old, who has been travelling in New Zealand since last November, added: "Once it stopped I was really shaken up and went outside. A tree had fallen in a communal area where a lot of backpackers had been sitting a few minutes before which was scary, but I only realised the magnitude of it when I looked up the street.
"The gable side of a building 100 yards away was completely levelled to the ground and as I made my way into the centre of the town there was just total devastation. One four-storey building was completely razed to the ground and windows and parts of other buildings were damaged.
Geri Nolan, the owner of Around the World Backpackers hostel, where Mr Luck was staying, said she had feared all her 37 guests were dead when the quake struck.
"I was down the road getting lunch when it happened and immediately thought that my hostel had collapsed. Luckily it was OK but the city is ruined. It has been horrible."
Tim Ireland was visiting Christchurch for a tennis competition at the time the quake struck.
He said: "The ground started to shake very aggressively, cracks appeared and the main tennis centre building, which has got eight or nine courts, just started to shake like a paper building, it was pretty scary stuff."
He said there were two large aftershocks following the quake and many smaller tremors.
The city was in disarray, with telephone lines down, water pipes burst and the electricity supply sporadic.
He added: "I've never experienced anything like this in my life before. There has been lots of aftershocks, lots of tremors, we are just hoping the main one has happened and has gone."
Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I was shocked and saddened to hear of the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch earlier today, killing so many people.
"The ties that bind the UK with New Zealand are very close and my thoughts are with the friends and families of all those who have lost their lives and been affected by the earthquake.
"Many people in the UK with links to New Zealand will be watching anxiously as the situation develops.
"Our High Commissioner in New Zealand is on her way to Christchurch and we stand ready to provide any assistance that we can to the authorities and to any British nationals who have been caught up in the earthquake."
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