Chinese parents who lost their only child in last month's Christchurch earthquake will not be getting special compensation, Prime Minister John Key says.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says the thoughts of his quake-stricken city are with Japan following Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake which devastated much of the country and left thousands dead.

Japanese officials have confirmed a second hydrogen explosion has occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, while a warning of a second tsunami has been cancelled.

More than half a million people have been forced from their homes in quake and tsunami-hit northern Japan, petrol has run dry and supermarkets are empty in what its prime minister says is the worst crisis to hit Japan since WWII.

Three nuclear power plants in Japan have suffered failure, with a top Government official warning a meltdown at one of the plants was "highly possible". Over 10,000 people are thought to be missing as officials fight to avoid a catastrope

Read the latest accounts from people around the world via Facebook and Twitter.

The Robinson family of Nelson breathed a huge sigh of relief this morning when they finally reached their daughter in Japan.

A compilation of some of the most remarkable video to emerge from Friday night's disaster in Japan

Recent events have many asking what science is doing to forewarn us of major earthquakes.

All but "a few" New Zealanders registered as living in northeast Japan have been located.

New Zealand is one of the first countries to respond to a call for help from Japan.

A young New Zealander who died in Thailand last month had a highly infectious virus which can spark the heart condition which killed her, tests show.

There is no connection between February's Christchurch earthquake and the massive Japanese quake, scientists say.

How the tsunami is impacting Pacific Rim locations such as Hawaii, Guam, North and South America, Tahiti and New Zealand.