Fortunately, damage even in coastal places close to the epicentre has been relatively minor. But it was enough to stop the Palmerston North Clocktower dead in its tracks.
Seddon Quakes
Presently there's a pile of earthquake activity in Cook Strait, centred off the coast from Seddon. Many people in Palmy have been feeling smaller ones all the way up here for days, but until yesterday evening I hadn't felt any of them. But then came the 6.5 quake. Even this far away from the epicentre it was quite strong. I was standing by the kitchen cupboards watching the walls and windows wave around and it seemed like the windows might pop out of their frames. But amazingly, not even one ornament fell. The house rolled around for ages, one lot of waves just seeming to bounce right into the next lot.
