The army has been having battle handling exercises in abandoned red-zoned areas around Christchurch.

Red-zone life is traumatising enough without troops of soldiers firing guns and throwing grenades in the neighbourhood, a Christchurch family says.

Up to 100 New Zealand Army soldiers set up camp in the red-zoned Horseshoe Lake area on March 23 and have been firing blank gunshots and letting off pyrotechnics as part of an urban-training operation.

Barbara Henderson is living in a red-zoned house on Mundys Rd in Dallington - with her husband, two adult sons and daughter-in-law - until they settle with their insurance company.

Dean Kozanic NZ Army soldiers from Burnham Military Camp have been using abandoned houses on red zoned Queensbury Street, Burwood, for exercises.

She said neither they nor their green-zoned neighbour had been notified of the army exercise around Queensbury St about 150 metres away.

Gunshots went all day and sometimes during the night too, she said.

"We're traumatised enough that we don't need them running around in their full gears with guns. We've got demolition on one side and guns going off on the other side."

Daughter-in-law Jess Henderson said they should have been warned.

"I feel like we can't even take the dogs for a walk because we don't want to get accidentally shot or anything."

A Defence Force spokeswoman said local residents were warned about an eight-day urban-training exercise in the area through a public notice in The Press and leaflet drops.

Soldiers used vacant properties and numerous weapons but fired blank rounds only.

Approval was given to use Crown-owned red-zone land - something the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) had allowed in the past.

It also had an administration base on De Ville Pl. Soldiers from Burnham Military Camp camped out in the area during the week.

The red zone was "ideal" for training soldiers as it was unoccupied and suited the need for scenario-based training, the spokeswoman said.

The exercises were expected to be completed today. No complaints had been received, she said.

Broomfield Tce resident Val Cox said she heard shooting "every now and then" and there had been some very loud days.

"In some ways it's quite encouraging to know your defence force is keeping themselves in training," she said.

They had received a leaflet notifying them of the training.