As New Zealand remembers the disaster a decade on, here is a look back at the devastation.
Christchurch residents who've finally been allowed in to the earthquake ravaged inner-city redzone say the devastation was far worse than they had ever imagined.
A huge team of engineers is in Christchurch to assess the state of buildings damaged but still standing after Tuesday's earthquake.
MPs are pledging not to let politics get in the way of helping rebuild earthquake-devastated Christchurch.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Kaiapoi devastation. Waimakariri Mayor Ron Keating stands outside the historic Blackwells department store".
Scientists are calling for more ground testing to be carried out before reconstruction starts in earthquake devastated Christchurch.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Beckenham shop owners consult with engineering staff outside their earthquake-devastated shops on Colombo Street".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Beckenham shop owners consult with engineering staff outside their earthquake-devastated shops on Colombo Street".
The devastation caused by the Christchurch earthquake has other cities reviewing how well they are prepared for a similar shake.
The devastation caused by the Christchurch earthquake has other cities reviewing how well they are prepared for a similar shake.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Beckenham Footwear & Engravers shop owner, Fred Arnesen. Standing outside his earthquake-devastated Colombo Street shop in Beckenham".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Safe distance. A police officer patrols Colombo Street in Sydenham, by the devastated Ascot Electronics Service Centre".
More than four years after the February 2011 earthquake devastated Christchurch's city centre, the rebuild in and around the iconic Cathedral Square has stalled.
Christchurch's Court Theatre devastated by February's earthquake has found a temporary new home - an old grain store in the suburb of Addington.
The man who heads California's earthquake insurance agency says Christchurch is much better placed to recover from earthquake devastation than his state.
A professor studying the economics of disasters says Christchurch will struggle to ever fully recover from the earthquakes that have devastated the city.
Days after Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, Simon Morton traverses the city, using the Avon River as his route, and finds everyone has a story to tell.
A victim's family and engineers are seeking answers from the Christchurch City Council on why the earthquake-devastated CTV building was allowed to be built.
There are the first signs of the Canterbury region returning to normal, six days after the massive earthquake devastated much of Christchurch and its surroundings.
On the evening of February 7th, 1908 the headlines in the Star ‘screamed out’ A DISASTROUS FIRE, HUGE OUTBREAK IN THE CITY, CENTRAL BLOCK DEVASTATED, DAMAGE AMOUNTS TO HUNDREDS OF THOUS…
A digitally manipulated image of damaged Music Centre. The photographer comments, "The destruction caused by the demolition of the heritage buildings damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes looks similar to the scenes in London during the second world war. The building was the Catholic Cathedral College, Christchurch. It was an integrated Catholic co-educational secondary school. It was founded in 1987, but its origins go back more than a 100 years earlier. The college was an amalgamation of two schools: Sacred Heart College for girls, and Xavier College for boys".
Businesses, farmers and workers in Canterbury are anxiously waiting to see what more the government will do to help after the 7.1 earthquake that devastated the region on Saturday morning.
Dr Dolly observes the devastation of Christchurch on television and falls into a philosophical reverie about the unfairness of fate. Context - The Christchurch earthquake 22 February 2011. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Children not even born when the city was devastated by the 2011 earthquake are showing signs of quake-related stress. A Christchurch-based clinical psychologist Catherine Gallagher says the children are living with the ongoing impact of the quakes.
The woman who fought the odds to regain her mobility after being trapped and crushed in her collapsed work place, the PGC building, when Christchurch was devastated by the earthquake of February 22. She is now helping other quake victims, especially the children of injured parents some of who have had long periods of separation.
Is Christchurch about to dethrone Wellington as the country's new capital of cool? Locals say Otautahi is becoming a hipper, more culturally vibrant place after it was devastated by earthquakes more than a decade ago. University students are coming in their droves, with the city offering affordability and an abundance of things to do, Adam Burns reports.
Text reads 'Cantabrians' spirit, two weeks on-' The cartoon shows the wrecked Christchurch Cathedral which is its true 'appearance' after the 19th February earthquake. Behind the devastation rises the ghost of the spire which is described as 'reality.' Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Days after the city of Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, This Way Up's presenter Simon Morton traverses the city using the Avon River as his route. Travelling on a bicycle from the source of the Avon in the West to Heathcote Estuary in the East, where the Avon meets the Pacific, everyone has a story to tell.
Days after the city of Christchurch was devastated by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, This Way Up's presenter Simon Morton traverses the city using the Avon River as his route. Travelling on a bicycle from the source of the Avon in the West to Heathcote Estuary in the East, where the Avon meets the Pacific, everyone has a story to tell.
Gary Luff's home was destroyed in February earthquake in Christchurch and he faced scenes of devastation in his work with the fire service. He and his partner struggled to find somewhere to stay in the aftermath and ended up living on a borrowed boat. They've enjoyed the surprise lifestyle change so much they're thinking of making it permanent - but it hasn't all been plain sailing.