Greg,
80% of Christchurch City has no electricity and from what I've heard from the lines company there it's going to be some time before supplies are re-instated, there is apparently a substantial amount of damage to the underground reticulation system.
A lot of the city is also without water service or a sewerage system with a LOT of pipes being damaged in the quakes.
One thing that really stood out to me last night up there, is the fact that you really have to see this first-hand to get an idea of the sheer scale of what has happened, pictures IMO don't really do it justice.
Christchurch recovered reasonably quickly from the September quake and to a certain degree was well on the mend, and now this has happened, who is to say that it isn't going to happen again.
I think this is what scares people so much about earthquakes, they are so unpredictable and happen unexpectedly.
