Does anyone else find it funny that in NZ when we loot we don't hit the supermarkets or the hardware stores - just the liquor stores?

@ #15 The trouble is they were jumping in large holes in the road where they may not be seen by cars as the cars position the wheels to avoid falling in + if there is another large quake the sides may converge back in and I can leave out the detail.

Carnage does sound wrong....it implies blood and mass death.Destruction sounds more accurate.

There is good reason to object to the hyperbole of carnage -- the Haiti earthquake saw carnage, the Boxing Day tsunami caused carnage. Using that term -- as both this report and TVNZ has done repeatedly -- is incorrect andf raises unnecessary alarm.

Just as using the term "looting" to refer to a couple of opportunistic smash-and-grab idiots hauled off by the cops is also misleading. (I see TVNZ's ticker now says "police say early reports of looting are now under control" -- which is accurate even if it may not be quite what the ticker writer meant :-)

The news is here to inform and, ideally, not add to panic and alarm. Word choice is very important in these respects and if we are badly served in that respect, we must object.

Its media hype...of course some ares are worse than others, and they will show us the worst pics & report on the worst...but I have family & friends spread from each corner of Christchurch & they have reported comments ranging from "Avonside drive torn open. Powerlines, water and poo pipes broken cbd hit pretty hard no sunami warnings yet" to "Talk about rock n roll,I nearly got thrown out of bed!! Nothing broken here,just a few things fell down or off where they were.No other damage noticed so far" to "it was very scary but we have no damage...just scared kids...they jump at every noise and after shock".

Most of the damage seems to be in the CBD & I heard on the radio Kaipoi got hit pretty bad too. Just makes me glad I am not back living there right now as the few small earthquakes that happened when I did live there were enough for me!

Californian, there are people who have pretty much lost their entire house and belongings, so get over yourself, on what has to be one of the worst days for many cantabrians.

FYI, to date, there are two people in christchurch hospital with critical injuries

I agree with Californian. Sloppy journalism pervades this country. Look at the timeline of today's events with all of its misplaced apostrophes. It does matter to have the national media setting a high standard.

Ask the guy who had a chimney fall on his head if he thinks the title is OK, Im picking he will agree in full when he recovers. Best wishes to those that were hurt or suffered property losses. NZ is behind you for the rebuild.

Californian, that is perhaps a rather extraordinary request. Furthermore I presume your talking to the media. You may indeed be facing an uphill battle if your looking for zero hype from the media.

The word carnage means "the killing of great numbers of people". This hasn't happened (thank goodness), so I can understand why people would be upset when they first read the misleading headline when they have family and friends there. Irresponsible journalism. Learn your dictionary!!