Wellington, Sept 4 (Updated 6pm) – A massive earthquake which shattered Canterbury in the early hours of Saturday has left many amazed that no one has yet been found dead.

The 7.1 magnitude quake struck at 4.35 am reducing buildings in central Christchurch to rubble, but there have so far been just a few reports of serious injury.

The earthquake ripped through Christchurch and Canterbury’s infrastructure cutting power, creating gas leaks, destroying roads and rupturing water and sewerage systems.

Debris and flooding blocked many roads and railway lines were bent out of shape.

The most serious damage appears to have been in Christchurch’s central business district with many old buildings collapsing and leaving others in a perilous state as aftershocks rocked the region.

Prime Minister John Key said it was an ``absolute miracle'' no one had been killed and Civil Defence Minister John Carter said the lack of widespread deaths and injury showed the country had a ``lucky escape’’.

When the earthquake hit most people were in bed in houses that were relatively safe in comparison to commercial buildings.

So far only one serious injury has been reported - a man in his 50s who is in intensive care in Christchurch Hospital after a chimney fell on him.

A second man suffered serious cuts, and emergency medical services were flooded with people with cuts, scratches and broken limbs.

There was also a report of a serious heart attack around the time of the quake.

The quake was a shallow 10km deep and centred 30 km west of Christchurch, near Darfield where there were reports of serious damage, but no major injuries as of yet in the area after New Zealand's worst earthquake in decades.

A state of emergency is in place in Christchurch, the Selwyn district and other areas giving police and emergency staff more powers to keep people out. Central Christchurch is cordoned off as engineers assess damaged buildings and tried to restore power and other services. The army and extra police were being brought into assist and a curfew would be in place from 7pm to 7am.

Most power was expected to be restored overnight, but water and sewerage systems would take longer to restore. The restoration of power also caused some problems with it being the suspected cause of a blaze in the city with the ignition of a gas leak.

Early estimates put the damage at $2 billion and Mr Key, who flew into the area, pledged that the Government would assist the region to rebuild. He described his old home town as looking like it had been put in a tumble drier.

Many residents said the quake lasted for more than a minute and was violent enough to knock people off their feet. Stories of near escapes from death are starting to emerge.

Those struggling to get over the traumatic effect will have to brace themselves for a coming storm.

Strong winds are forecast to increase with gusts of up to 130kmh possible and rain on the way.

Buildings, other structures and trees already weakened by the quake and flooding could be put at risk.

ENDS

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