Quake-affected North Canterbury residents scared of sleeping inside

Scargill resident (Newshub.)
Scargill resident (Newshub.)

Residents in the small North Canterbury town of Scargill say they'll be sleeping in their cars for a second night because they're too scared to enter their quake-damaged homes.

The small rural town is just two kilometres from the epicentre of Tuesday night's severe 5.7 magnitude quake. It's left residents shaken to the core.

"It wasn't a rolling shake, it was a violent stabbing bang and every one after was the same," says resident Bryn Davies.

The shallow tremor brought down walls, toppled chimneys and knocked over furniture.

It also triggered a slip blocking the only road in to nearby farms.

Water tanks crashed to the ground while stone garden structures were ruined.

"There used to be an arch, a reinforced archway across here but as you can see the whole thing's just fallen over," said resident Nev Sinclair.

A team of volunteers pulled down chimneys to make the homes as safe as possible in case of another big one.

Most residents will be turning back to their cars for a second night's sleep in the open. They're too scared to stay inside their damaged homes.

"Normally I'm quite resolute and quite strong and don't scare easily, but this has been completely unbelievable and unless you lived with it, with the booms under the house - you wouldn't know," says resident Hilary Lewis.

They're hoping for a more peaceful sleep after the nightmare filled with aftershocks last night.

Newshub.