Dozens of people, international tourists among them, this morning queued at a makeshift Intercity bus shelter on the fringe of the city centre to take the next ride out. Backpacks, suitcases and bedding were piled up beside them.
Swedish traveller Birgetta Olsen, who arrived in New Zealand on February 9, was heading for Queenstown, where she hoped there was more stable ground.
She told NZPA she was in Cathedral Square when the earthquake hit.
"I talking to a lady at the tourist information desk when it happened," Ms Olsen said.
"She pulled me and we went down to the ground together. When it was over people were just screaming out and crying."
When she went outside she was greeted by the sight of buildings collapsing around her, including the ChristChurch Cathedral, where people are still believed to be trapped.
An Intercity spokeswoman said its buses out of Christchurch, including extra services put on yesterday, had been fully loaded.
"A lot of people are heading for Picton, getting off the island altogether," she said.
"There are a mixture of local people and tourists trying to get out -- not so many people trying to get in though."
Locals were also going, some temporarily while two Canterbury University students wanted to make it more permanent.
Josh Kosmala told NewsWire.co.nz he was 80 percent sure he was going to quit university in Christchurch.
And his girlfriend, Katie Chilton, wanted to transfer her papers to Victoria University, but was worried that it was too late to do so.
