CBC's Jason Proctor in New Zealand describes 7.8 magnitude earthquake

It was about midnight in New Zealand whenCBC Vancouver reporter Jason Proctor was shaken by what he says felt like a train going through his cabin.

"It was just completely insane. It was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced," Proctor said over the phone from Hokitika, where he happens to beon a cycling tour with a friend.

The small seaside town is on the other side of the country's South Island from Christchurch, or about 300 kilometres from the epicentre of the7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed two people Saturday night.

"It was just swayingeverythingback and forth," he said, describing coffee pots falling to the ground and doors slamming."Everybody on the entire South Island could feel it."

After about two minutes of heavy shaking, Proctor says everyone ran out into the parking lot at which point his main concern became the threat of a tsunami.

He saysalthough he had felt the quake, he didn't know exactly where it had hit and how it might impact the coast.

"Is some giant wave going to be coming to carry me away?" he wondered.

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Aftershocks all night

Proctor says he was relieved whenthe tsunami warning system didn't go off where he was. It did, however, do so on the east coast of the island, where two metre waves hit the shore.

When he went back to bed, Proctor and those around him felt aftershocks all night long. They could still go on for weeks or even months.

"It's kind of unsettling becauseyou just think, well what do I do? It's normal, but the earth is moving constantly," he said.

"But at the same time, there's no damage here. People are kind of moving on with their lives."

Railway lines on the South Island have been shut down, as well as ferries on the North Island.

He says all day, the earthquake is the only thingpeople have been talking about.

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Memories of Christchurch

"Obviously, it brings backeverythingabout Christchurchforeverybody," he said, referring to the 2011 earthquake there.

Theprevious morning, Proctor and his friendhad been inChristchurch, from where they caught a train across the islandto Greymouth and then biked down to Hokitika.

He said he was struck by how much damage there still is in Christchurch whole blocks cordoned off, with crumbling buildings.

"The entire city looks like it has been the subject of an air raid or a bomb," he said.

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For Proctor, it's an unsettling reminder of what could happenon Canada'sWest Coast.

"Seeing all of that and seeing this, particularly coming from Vancouver, you can kind of see what we could be in for at one point," he said.

"I've lived in Vancouver for decades, obviously alwayswith thefear of an earthquake. But it's like OK, that's what it would feel like. It's pretty scary."

With files fromTanyaFletcher