Christchurch Earthquake

The major earthquake near Christchurch , around 350km north of here, woke us at 4.35 this morning. It was strong enough here for me to be concerned about objects falling, though none did. The timing was fortunate, in that not many people were out on the streets. Had they been, there would have been many more casualties. As it is, some people had some amazing escapes. For news stories see TVNZ or BBC.