Collective freak-out in Christchurch

My heart goes out to everyone in Christchurch, after the new aftershocks inflicted more damage on their lovely city. Another landmark that I recall from my visits has fallen down - the Timeball Station tower in Lyttleton.

In the reports on Stuff.co.nz, people interviewed commented as one that the shocks were "freaky".

One Pak 'n Save Wainoni worker said items had been thrown from the shelves and the floor was littered with food and broken glass. "It was pretty freaky. It felt like it was right under the supermarket," she said.

Christchurch east MP Aaron Gilmore said he was just getting out of his car when the quake hit and couldn't work out what was going on. "I could see the ground rise on the road, it was a bit freaky."

Greymouth pair Matt Adams and Crystal Graham-Hayes were shopping in Amazon when the magnitude-5.5 quake hit at 1pm. ''All the lights started shaking to the ground. I freaked out a little bit,'' Adams said.

Fire Service spokesman Dan Coward said there had been countless callouts to burst pipes, especially in the Sumner area where many locals were "freaked out".

So I would rate that at about 8.5 on the freak scale.