The magnitude 6.3 quake struck within a few miles of downtown Christchurch, when the southern city was bustling with workers, shoppers, and tourists going about their activities. It brought down or badly damaged office towers, churches and thousands of homes across the city.

Police said Tuesday they have pulled 155 bodies from the wreckage, and said the number of others missing and feared dead indicated a final death toll higher than previously thought.

Photos taken during the week after the disaster show both the extent of damage and the resilience of the human spirit as the long road to recovery begins. They begin on the next page.

New Zealand army soldier gunner Charlie Va'alepu stands in the middle of a major traffic intersection as New Zealanders stopped at 12:51 pm to mark two minutes silence on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, exactly one week after last Tuesday's magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Around 200 people are listing as missing, though many are believed to be among bodies already collected but whose identities have not been established. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Residents stand at a major traffic intersection as New Zealanders stopped at 12.51 pm on March 1, 2011 to mark two minutes silence exactly one week after last Tuesday's magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Urban Search and Rescue workers from around the world stand behind flowers offered at Cathedral Square after New Zealand held two minutes of silence at 12:51pm local time on March 1, 2011, to mark the time of last week's Christchurch earthquake. (AP Photo/Cameron Spencer, Pool)

The casket of 5-month-old Baxtor Gowland is placed in a car following a service in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. Baxtor was killed by falling debris as he slept.

Tony Christie stands amongst rubble in what was his back yard in the Christchurch suburb of Sumner, in New Zealand, Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A worker collects mud and silt from suburban properties and dumps it on city roads. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Anglican Rev. Neil Struthers stands amongst the rubble of his Holy Trinity church in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Lyttelton, epicenter for last Tuesday's magnitude 6.3 earthquake, has only one of its five churches left undamaged. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A resident takes a wheelbarrow to a water filling station in Lyttelton, New Zealand, on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A young boy carries empty containers to a water filling station in Lyttelton, New Zealand, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Five-year-old Florence draws a heart and a welcome sign on the pavement outside St. Barnabas Church in Christchurch, New Zealand, before a service on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. New Zealand's premier said Tuesday's quake may be the country's worst disaster ever. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Emma Howard walks with her husband Chris Greenslade from the Christ The King Church after their wedding Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, days after she was pulled from the rubble of the earthquake devastated Pyne Gould Corporation building in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)