The epicentre of the Tuesday’s 6.3 Magnitude earthquake was in Lyttelton, around 10 kilometres south of Christchurch.

This is significantly closer than September’s shake, which was centred in Darfield, roughly 30 kilometres west of the city.

Incredibly, at this stage there have been no reports of stock, life, or property damage on any of the hundreds of farms in the area, although this will surely change as efforts to check pasture and irrigation systems are underway.

Federated Farmers has reportedly been inundated with calls from concerned farmers offering support, and CEO Conor English says they’re working closely with Civil Defence in Wellington to organise that help. 

Conor English says it’s encouraging to see so many people willing to help, especially as aftershocks are still shaking everyone up.

Fed’s North Canterbury President, Neil Stott, says it’s amazing to see the almost polar opposite effects of Tuesday’s quake to the September event.

“It Seems to be all confined basically to Christchurch, there’s been no dairy sheds damaged and no silos fallen over that we know of, at this stage.

“Feds have set up that 0800 number for any required help.

“We’ve given Civil Defence the information that we’re available to supply water and manpower if it’s required.”

Mr Stott says like September, though, the concerns around liquefied pasture and foundation land are intensifying as in some areas, the ground has literally turned to swamp.

Neil Stott is encouraging any farmers who need assistance, or know of anyone else who may, to call Federated Farmers 24 hour emergency line, 0800 327 646 (0800 FARMING.)

Concerns over electricity supply in the city of Christchurch are mounting, as roughly 50 percent of the central suburbs are still without power.

In the outlying areas of Canterbury, though, most facilities are back up and running after a precautionary cut off period.

Orion energy CEO Roger Sutton has said in a statement most rural communities are back online with electricity, and it’s only really the central city which is still cut off.

Telecom and Vodafone services are working to restore total cell coverage, after a network overload and power outages have affected service in the area.

Both networks have said emergency calls will be processed with priority, and any calls to 111 should be unaffected.

Irrigation New Zealand is urging farmers with underground water storage systems not to rush into testing their wells, as the conditions are still unstable, as aftershocks continue to strike.

The Irrigation NZ buildings, located in the Christchurch CBD, have also been extensively damaged, and contact with farm members is therefore impossible.

Irrigation NZ CEO Andrew Curtis says while people are understandably anxious after the quake, he’s urging caution and patience. 

Mr Curtis says the company will release more advice as soon as they can get back up and running.

Anyone after advice or help can head to the civil defence website, here, or the Canterbury Earthquake website, here.