Telecom advises that no significant damage appears to have been sustained to its networks in the Lower North Island / Upper South Island as a result of this afternoon’s Cook Strait earthquakes.

In an emailed statement to TechDay, the telco said:

"For a period of time after the major earthquake hit just after 2.30pm, our networks experienced severe congestion as a result of many people trying to make calls to loved ones.

"While this initial congestion is abating we continue to encourage customers to use text messaging rather than making phone calls unless absolutely necessary, to ensure lines are freed up for emergency calls."

"111 services are still operating, although traffic that normally is routed through the Wellington call centre has been diverted to Christchurch under Telecom’s business continuity procedures."

Telecom has also decided to close all its key buildings in the Wellington area as a precaution pending engineering checks likely to occur over the weekend.

Staff are being allowed to return home to their families and loved ones the company says.