A fire in central Christchurch has been contained.

Flames burst forth from BJ’s Massage Parlour on the corner of Worcester and Manchester Streets, just as the Prime Minister was being shown around the area and surveying the damage.

Six tenders are being used to pump water into the building, as the water pressure in the city is very low following the quake.

A curfew is in place.

A Christchurch City Civil Defence spokesman told John Key the CBD will continue to be cordoned off.

Telecom says its services are working well in the South Island following the quake.

It says its 111 services are fully available and fixed line infrastructure is performing well, as are both Telecom mobile networks.

A small number of mobile sites have lost power, and others are running on battery back-up.

Telecom is urging its customers to reserve power on the network and use mobiles for emergency calls only.

– Newstalk ZB