On 26 December 2010 a Mw4.7 earthquake occurred directly under the city centre of Christchurch, New Zealand, at a depth of between 4 and 5 kilometres (2.5 and 3.1 miles).

[7]: ii  The maximum peak ground acceleration measured 0.48g, at Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

[9][10] By contrast, the Mw 7.1 September earthquake had peak ground accelerations in the central city ranging up to 0.3g.

[10] Immediately after the earthquake, 40,000 residential properties lost power in Papanui, St Albans and Fendalton.

[13] Bricks and debris fell off a building and crashed through the roof of a restaurant in City Mall, crushing several tables.

[8] Shortly after the earthquake hit, hundreds of shoppers were evacuated from the Westfield Riccarton shopping mall.

Other calls included gas leaks, small fires,[13] and people being trapped in lifts or stairwells.

[11] Due to concerns about unstable structures, two blocks and several individual buildings were cordoned off,[13] including in City Mall.

[21] A Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre was set up at the council's Hereford Street building.

[29] At first it appeared that building damage would mean that the New Year's Eve celebrations in Cathedral Square had to find a new venue.