Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Earthquake trauma too much for some families

Updated at 9:47 pm on 7 September 2010

The days of aftershocks and sleepless nights are becoming too much for some Canterbury families, who say they want to get out of the city until the tremors stop.

One Christchurch mother of two, Tara Wingfield, is taking her family to Auckland until at least Saturday in an effort to calm her deeply distressed children of two and five.

Ms Wingfield says her older boy is physically ill every time there's a decent tremor and the younger one shakes uncontrollably.

"I've had enough," she says. "My nerves are on end."

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When Parliament resumed on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister John Key said the people of Canterbury are suffering trauma and should not be afraid to ask for help.

Politicians on all sides praised the courage and resilience shown by Canterbury residents since the earthquake. Labour leader Phil Goff said it's a time to set political differences aside.

More expected at welfare centres

Hundreds of Cantabrians were again spending the night in community shelters, though one of them - Burnside High School - was damaged by Monday night's aftershocks and has been closed.

All the people who had been sheltering there have been moved to the Addington Raceway.

Three hundred people took advantage of the welfare centres on Monday night and more were expected on Tuesday night.

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Despite a lull for a few hours on Tuesday, aftershocks are still hitting Canterbury, with a magnitude 3.9 one just before 9pm, centred 10 kilometres south of Darfield.

Warwick Smith of GNS Science says the aftershocks will not get smaller day by day but they will get less frequent.

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