SMASH! UNDER THE DOORWAY. THIS IS, LIKE, ABOUT 45 SECONDS OF EARTHQUAKE. EVACUATION NOTICE OVER PA, SIREN WAILS DUE TO THE LIVE NATURE OF SEVEN SHARP, WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LACK OF CAPTIONS FOR SOME ITEMS. It is good to be back, LOTS COMING UP FOR YOU ON THIS SEVEN SHARP SPECIAL. COULD A SUPERMOON REALLY HAVE TRIGGERED THE EARTHQUAKES? AN EXPERT'S WITH US TO EXPLAIN THE LIKELIHOOD. IF YOUR KIDS ARE FEELING A LITTLE UNEASY TONIGHT BECAUSE OF TODAY'S EVENTS, WE HAVE ADVICE FROM NIGEL LATTA ON HOW TO REASSURE THEM. THE CAPITAL TURNS INTO A GHOST TOWN. MEET THE GUYS WHO KEPT ROLLING AS MANY WERE LEFT STRANDED ON THE STREETS. BUT WE BEGIN AT THE EPICENTRE OF THE DEADLY QUAKE, WAIAU, WHICH IS WHERE MIKE THORPE HAS SPENT THE DAY. HE'S NOW IN KAIKOURA, ONE OF THE WORST-HIT AREAS, AND HE'S WITH US LIVE. MIKE, WHAT'S THE SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE? Flying into day it was pretty obvious the damage. There were rocks as far as we could see and slips every couple of hundred metres. Kaikoura is in total isolation both North and South. Those in town cannot get out. Cars and tents have been set up. It could be up to 3 to 4 days before we see any clearance. But when we flew in, our pilot made its first flight and they had already made great progress. So that is good news. Kaikoura is an isolation, and is not the only one cut off tonight. WAIAU IS USED TO ISOLATION, BUT RARELY LIKE THIS. THERE'S ONLY TWO WAYS INTO WAIAU AT THE MOMENT ` ONE'S GOING THE WAY THAT WE'RE GOING, WHICH IS BY AIR. BY THE LOOKS OF THINGS, THE BRIDGE IS OPEN TO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC. ALL THREE MAJOR ROUTES IN ARE EITHER UNRELIABLE OR IMPASSABLE. SO WITH NOWHERE TO GO, THEY CAME HERE. A GOOD 10 FAMILIES, BUT A LOT OF THEM ARE TOO SCARED TO GO HOME. MARY'S THE PRINCIPAL OF WAIAU SCHOOL. SHE WASN'T HAPPY TO SEE US. DON'T TELL ME YOU'VE GOT A CAMERA BECAUSE WE DESPERATELY NEED BOTTLED WATER AND PACKETS OF BISCUITS. SO OUR PILOT, BILL, TURNED AROUND TO GET THEM. AND IN RETURN, SHE GAVE US A TOUR OF HER NOW TWISTED TOWN. THIS IS OUR PRECIOUS POOL. COME AND HAVE A LOOK. THIS IS OUR CHANGING ROOMS ` TOTALLY DOWN. THE MAGNITUDE 7.5 SHAKE CRACKED AND EMPTIED THIS POOL IN NO TIME. THE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST UNDER THE RAIL. THIS MORNING? YEAH. OR YESTERDAY? YESTERDAY. SO THAT'S LEAKED... SO THAT'S ALL LEAKED OUT. ...THOUSANDS OF LITRES IN NO TIME? YES. SO PROBABLY, THIS PADDOCK OVER HERE WILL BE LOOKING VERY LUSH. ACROSS THE ROAD, THE CHURCH WAS OUT OF SERVICE. GOT POWER? NO. CELL PHONE COVERAGE? NO. NOT AT ALL. THE POWER LINES ARE DOWN EVERYWHERE. AROUND THE CORNER, HOMES THAT STOOD PROUDLY YESTERDAY STRIPPED NAKED SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE COME OFF THE FOUNDATIONS A BIT TOO. ALL OF THEM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. REALLY? MARY'S HOUSE WASN'T SPARED EITHER. IT'S LOOKING A BIT DIRE AROUND HERE, MARY. THIS IS LOOKING A BIT SAD. INSIDE, THOUGH, MARY WAS HOPEFUL. COME ON IN, COS YOU'VE GOTTA PROMISE NOT TO BREAK ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE MIRACULOUSLY SURVIVED. SO YOU WALK IN. COME ON. BUT EVEN AMONGST THE CARNAGE, MARY'S THINKING OF OTHERS. MY BEAUTIFUL HOUSE. WE'LL GET THE DINNER ROLLING TONIGHT. I'LL THEN INVESTIGATE THE SCHOOL. COS THAT'S THE DIFFICULT BIT, ISN'T IT? WHEN YOU LOSE RECEPTION, YOU CAN'T GET THE WORD OUT TO ANYBODY THAT YOU'RE OK. UNDER MARY'S WATCH, I THINK THEY'RE FINE. HOW'S MARY GOING? HAS SHE GOT THIS UNDER CONTROL? OH, HELL YEAH. (LAUGHS) THEY'LL BE HERE ON HER WATCH TONIGHT. WE'LL JUST PUSH EVERYTHING BACK AND PUT THE MATTRESSES IN AND GO FROM THERE. BUT THE BELL AT WAIAU SCHOOL WON'T RING FOR A WHILE YET. The way to summon up the night is the vulnerability. And that's because of the lack of communication. One familiar face touchdown today. Richie McCaw helping those out. What kind of job was he doing today? I wasn't sure. He was in a rush. They were happier to see him than me. But once we brought supplies, we were in the good books. THANKS. MIKE THORPE IN KAIKOURA. Leadership is leadership. She was just doing things under control. AS WE HAVE SEEN SO MANY TIMES BEFORE WHEN ADVERSITY STRIKES, PEOPLE COME TOGETHER AND HELP. BUT SADLY TODAY, WHAT A MONUMENTAL DISAPPOINTMENT IT WAS TO SEE THE REPORTS OF LOOTING OF THE REPROBATES TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS' MISFORTUNE. BUT BY FAR AND AWAY THE STORIES OF CARING PEOPLE AND THEIR KINDNESS HAVE OUTWEIGHED THOSE SHOCKING STORIES. HERE'S A FEW OF THEM. GOOD MORNING, PULSAR FM. IT IS, UH, QUARTER TO 2 IN THE MORNING THIS MORNING. RADIO DJ MIKE NICHOLAS (20) WENT STRAIGHT TO WORK ON CHRISTCHURCH'S PULSAR FM STATION. I AM TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE UP TO DATE AND EVERYONE SAFE AND THAT SORT OF THING. HE WAS ON AIR FOR TWO HOURS, BY HIMSELF, BEFORE BACKUP ARRIVED. AROUND THE CORNER, HARLEY JOLLY WAS WOKEN BY THE QUAKES AND WANTED TO HELP. A LITTLE LIGHT BULB WENT OFF IN MY HEAD. I MEAN, I'VE GOT THE MEANS TO BE ABLE TO HELP. I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF STOCK, SO I JUST CAME DOWN WITH WHAT I HAD AND PASSED OUT A FEW FREE COFFEES. HE GAVE AWAY 60 AT THE LINWOOD EMERGENCY CENTRE BEFORE HE RAN OUT OF BEANS. AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY STUDENT ARMY WAS BACK ON THE FRONT LINE. NOT ALL DAMAGE IS GOING TO BE PHYSICAL. THEY PUT THE CALL OUT FOR ANYONE NEEDING HELP. SO PLEASE CONTACT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE, AND WE WILL RESPOND AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. CONTACT OUR VOLUNTEER BASE AND SEND OUT ANYONE WE CAN TO HELP. THIS TRIO FROM KOHA BUILDERS SPENT THE DAY TRAVELLING AROUND KAIKOURA OFFERING A HAND. AND FINALLY, WILLOWBANK WILDLIFE RESERVE IN CHRISTCHURCH OPENED ITS DOORS TO KIDS THAT HAD NO SCHOOL TO GO TO. LAUGHTER THEY HAD A DAY OF STRESS-FREE FUN FOR FREE. It is lovely. I am thinking about the exams. And there was a lot of confusion today. You need to keep consistent. Some kids would have wanted the extra study time, but others would have been desperate to get out the way. You get into mindset. And you are set to go. Some people started the exams and were told they were off. Everyone was so quick to help. Those in the South island is so well versed. We measure everything from 2010, and we dodged a bullet in comparison. We have been through it an experience that, and we can all offer something. SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND THE GLOBE STUDY EARTHQUAKES, BUT THERE'S STILL SO MUCH WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THEM, LIKE THIS SUPERMOON THEORY. COULD IT REALLY BE TO BLAME FOR THE QUAKES OVERNIGHT? WE'LL PUT THAT TO AN EXPERT SHORTLY. PLUS NO DOUBT THE KIDS ARE PRETTY UNSETTLED TONIGHT. COMING UP ` NIGEL LATTA HAS SOME ADVICE FOR PARENTS. Hardhats and hi vis has been they go in Wellington. The street is still closed. Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of another big day for our small country. EARTHQUAKES ARE ONE OF THE MOST STUDIED NATURAL PHENOMENA, BUT EVERY TIME A MAJOR ONE STRIKES, WE ASK THE SAME SORT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT, HOW BIG, WHEN, AND BECAUSE THERE AREN'T A LOT OF CONCRETE ANSWERS, OUT COME THE THEORIES. LIKE THIS ` THE SO-CALLED 'SUPERMOON' THEORY. THIS WEEK THE MOON WILL BE CLOSER TO EARTH THAN IT'S BEEN IN ABOUT 70 YEARS. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SAYING THIS TRIGGERED THE EARTHQUAKE. THIS GUY EVEN RECKONS HE PREDICTED IT. SO IF THIS IS THE CASE, SURELY THE THOUSANDS OF GEOLOGISTS AND SEISMOLOGISTS WHO STUDY EARTHQUAKES WOULD BE ALL COMPLETELY ACROSS THIS. SO LET'S ASK ONE ` JOHN TOWNEND, HEAD OF GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT AND EARTH SCIENCES AT VICTORIA UNIVERSITY. Is there any credibility to this super moon thoery? There is no credibility. It doesn't allow us to predict anything about it. So it is not a good way to forecast or plan for them. We have to treat them as random and act accordingly. What would your explanation be for what caused these quakes? These occur, as we have seen, when the stress that is applied to New Zealand they break a fault and slip. And they load other nearby faults. And that is how after-shocks are triggered. Speaking of after-shocks, how many have we had in total and what you expect to happen? I don't know the exact numbers, but with had more than 250 larger than four. And 35 five Or larger. We've seen a number of earthquakes larger then Canterbury. Why are these things so hard to predict? The factors we don't really understand what is the straw that breaks the camel's back. At some point the weakest point curves in the crust, and that causes an earthquake. We have an understanding of it, but can't say exactly. I saw a graph of all the steps can you give us any idea of how long after-shocks will go on for? We are talking months and maybe years in terms of earthquakes that can be picked up by some instruments. At this point there is a likelihood of earthquakes larger than six in the coming days. And in the coming days will have a better idea. And scientists will be a update the numbers. But we need to be prepared for a number of after-shocks, some may be as large as six or larger. We just have to prepare for that and plan accordingly. The message to stay on high alert. It is always the same thing we always forget about geological time and that is hundreds of thousands of years. And we want an app that will tell us exactly when. And when we don't get those answers, we don't like it. Being told that this could go on for years is hard to process. They just simply don't know. There are four scenarios. Something big might be coming and they really don't know. And no one knows what to think. All you can do is be prepared. NOW IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT WHEN IT COMES TO A QUAKE OF THIS MAGNITUDE SOMETIMES THE KIDS MAY HAVE A HARD TIME DEALING WITH THE EMOTIONS THAT COME WITH IT, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S HAPPENED TO THEM BEFORE, SO PSYCHOLOGIST NIGEL LATTA OFFERED SOME ADVICE TODAY. HE SAYS, 'KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. 'THAT'S THE BEST MESSAGE FOR KIDS.' TELL THEM HOW COOL IT IS THAT PEOPLE HELP EACH OTHER WHEN STUFF LIKE THIS HAPPENS.' AND FOR THE AFTERSHOCKS USE THIS EXPLANATION ` 'AFTERSHOCKS ARE JUST THE EARTH FARTING. 'HAVE A LAUGH WHERE YOU CAN.' People's reactions, my mum is in the centre of this, so after a few calls you get worried. But when she finally picked up, she was just in the shower and everything is okay. When you've just been through it so often. It's a personality thing. She was very funny. LET'S HAVE A LOOK AT THE CAPITAL WHICH WAS AFFECTED BADLY TODAY, AND DOWNTOWN HAS BASCIALLY BEEN A GHOST TOWN. REBECCA EDWARDS HAS BEEN OUT AND ABOUT. REBECCA? It has felt like an eerie day here. People were told to stay away. It has been a nervous day. And will meet a couple of guys who captured. WELLINGTON'S JUST BEEN HIT BY A <BLEEP>ING HUGE EARTHQUAKE. UM, WE JUST GRABBED OUR CAMERAS AND RAN. IT WENT FOR, LIKE, MINUTES. WELCOME BACK. HERE'S THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THE DEADLY EARTHQUAKE. TWO PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN THE 7.5 RICHTER QUAKE THAT WAS CENTRED NEAR CULVERDEN IN NORTH CANTERBURY. A STATE OF EMERGENCY REMAINS FOR KAIKOURA AS HUNDREDS HEAD INTO THE NIGHT WITHOUT POWER AND WATER. AND ROAD ACCESS TO THE REGION IS STILL DISRUPTED WITH STATE HIGHWAY ONE BETWEEN SEDDON AND CHEVIOT CLOSED. RIGHT TO THE CAPITAL, WHERE MANY EVACUATED TO HIGHER GROUND EARLY THIS MORNING WHEN THE TSUNAMI WARNING WENT OUT, AND MANY HAVE HAD A DAY AWAY FROM WORK AS THE DOWNTOWN AREA WAS RULED OUT. REBECCA EDWARDS IS WITH US. As you can see behind me, it is rather deserted in the capital. People were told to stay away and made it. We walk the streets today, and knows we saw were contractors and engineers and tourists who didn't know what to do with trains cancelled. In normal circumstances this is a busy street, but it's been closed to traffic. We were able to walk down there today, but that ended when the wind got up. There are a number of smashed windows and loose masonry. And some of that has come down. Throughout the day I talked to the residents of the CBD many of evacuated from their apartments. And many said they felt like this was at. This was one that Wellington had prepared for. And whether significant after-shocks through today many are feeling on the edge. IT WAS VERY NOISY AND LONG ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SAY, 'OH MY GOD, THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE BIG ONE.' THE SHAKING WAS INCREDIBLY VIOLENT. I WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY PETRIFIED AND JUST REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I WAS SAYING TO THE MAN UPSTAIRS, 'OH, MATE. COME ON, MATE,' AND THEN IT SORT OF STOPPED. I THOUGHT, 'OH, THAT'S COOL.' I think it is fair to say after the initial shake there was little sleep here. And that was trooper to skateboarders who caught the damage on their cameras. KRISTIN HALL WENT AND SPOKE TO THEM. WE TOOK OUR TWO CAMERAS, SOME SPARE BATTERIES, AND WE GOT OUR SKATEBOARDS AND WE JUST RAN AND WE LEFT. WE JUST CAPTURED EVERYTHING WE SAW. WE SWEAR SOMETIMES, BUT WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, THERE'S NO FILTER. (LAUGHS) YOU JUST SAY WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND. THE ONE THING THAT GOT TO ME WAS SEEING ALL THE` THESE MASSIVE OFFICES WITH THEIR DOORS JUST WIDE OPEN AT 2AM DESERTED. ALARM RINGS JUST THE SIRENS, THEY DIDN'T STOP, AND IN MY VIDEO, WE WERE JUST BOTH COVERING OUR EARS AND RUNNING THROUGH. NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. IT'S REALLY LATE AT NIGHT. PEOPLE NEED TO SEE THIS, AND WE HAD TO GET IT OUT PRETTY SOON, SO WE CAME, GOT OUR GEAR, AND WE EDITED THE VIDEO. OUR VIDEOS WERE OUT BY 3AM. WE'VE SURPASSED 100,000 EASILY. VIEWS. IT WAS JUST SECOND NATURE TO JUST PICK UP THE CAMERA AND JUST FILM. There are a few sentiments they shared that I would have to agree with. I grew up in the city, and I've never felt anything quite like that. When I was standing in my own doorway, I was fearful of what was going to happen. So it is fair to say that all take a few days for the nerves to settle. And something that will help is the CBD going back to business, and the council has said that the city will operate tomorrow. The Street will remain closed, because it needs a few more work. There is one small spanner in the mix and that is this delightful whether. And that could cause some issues for loose materials. But most people will be hunkering down at home and hoping for a settled night. THANKS. REBECCA EDWARDS IN WELLINGTON FOR US TONIGHT. I I wish the weather was better. I learned a statistic today. And it doesn't take away what happened. The quake and 50 times more energy then the quake of Christchurch. Location and depth is everything. It is nice to see that everyone was checking on their loved ones. The Facebook safety check was lovely to see. WE'LL HAVE UPDATES ON THE EARTHQUAKE SITUATION ON THE LATE NEWS AND 1 NEWS NOW. CAPTIONS BY ALEX WALKER, ALANA DRAYTON, ANTONY VLUG AND IMOGEN STAINES. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT ABLE 2016