Scientists know a tide gauge at Kaikoura rose 90 centimetres during Monday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake, but that's one of the few pieces of detailed data so far about how much the level of the coastline has risen.

There is also information about land movement from a network of continuous GPS stations run by GeoNet and Linz showing a rise of about a metre at Cape Campbell, at the southern end of Clifford Bay.

Data from the stations also show Cape Campbell moved horizontally north-east by two to three metres.

Teams are now racing around the affected areas, taking measurements to build a picture showing how the earth has changed since the quake.