The first and biggest quake struck at 6.03am local time, 10 kilometres southwest of Christchurch, at a depth of 10 kilometres.

So heavy was the impact that it was enough to throw this startled reporter, who was happily sleeping, onto the hotel floor.

The violent shaking, which I must admit is rather scary, lasted around 30 seconds before calm was briefly restored.

However, this was disrupted by a second earthquake, with magnitude of 3.4; that struck shortly after 8.00am at the same location.

Finally, a third quake - measuring 4.0 - hit minutes later at 8.06am, 20 kilometres west of Christchurch.

The incident follows a major 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck Christchurch on September 4 last year, which put the Championships here in doubt, and tremors late last month but Fiona Pickering, the chief executive of Paralympic New Zealand and chair of the Organising Committee, is confident the show will go on as planned.

She told insideworldparasport: "It was obviously a bit of a shock to have these earthquakes this morning but we have contacted all the National Paralympic Committees and fortunately, all the teams and the athletes appear to be unharmed an in good condition.

"Christchurch is a city designed and built to withstand earthquakes and we are very pleased that the damage appears to be minimal.

"We are carrying on with our preparations as normal and very much looking forward to the Opening Ceremony tomorrow."

Craig Spence, the IPC Media and Communications Senior Manager, added: "The people of Christchurch have to deal with these incidents for long periods and it just shows their great character and resilience that they carry on as normal.

"We are following their example and ploughing on ahead with what will be a fantastic World Championships."

The Opening Ceremony tomorrow is due to take place from 11:45am to 1:10pm local time in Christchurch City Centre.

It will be open to all the public and see the Parade of Athletes, featuring all competing nations, head from Worcester Street Bride to Cathedral Square.

Speeches will be made at the Ceremony by New Zealand Prime Minister and Patron of the Championships John Key, IPC vice-president Greg Hartung and Pickering.

The competition, from January 21-30, is the last major gathering of international athletes before the London 2012 Paralympic Games, with nearly 1,100 from 70 countries set to compete here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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