Ipswich Woman: In NZ When Quake Hit

25 February 2011, 05:00 | Updated: 7 March 2011, 17:15

A woman who was in Christchurch in New Zealand when the massive earthquake hit on Tuesday has been telling HEART what it was like

The massive quake hit the city during lunchtime in New Zealand.

22-year-old Elicia Gilbert from Ipswich has been out there working since last June and says the whole experience was frightening: "It was absolutely awful. When the earthquake struck I was at work and I dived under a desk and just watched the inside of my building fall to pieces. The lights came down, the ceiling tiles came off, and it was just terrifying."

She has now managed to get a flight out to Auckland to be with her family there. She says a lot of people were trying to do the same thing: "The airport was absolutely packed. Some people were just in sleeping bags, sleeping at the airport because it seemed the safest place to be, others were getting on flights, and some even landing to come to Christchurch to visit family members."

You can hear more from Elicia by following the link.