With a tremor measuring magnitude 6.4, the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of southern New Zealand on Sunday night.

The magnitude 7-7.8 quake, which came just after midnight local time (19:00 GMT), left at least 23,000 people dead and caused extensive damage to houses and businesses.

More than 300,000 houses were destroyed and at least 6,000 were damaged, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The damage from the quake, however, is less severe than the magnitude 6 quake that hit the region on March 26, 2014, which killed more than 20,000.

Despite the earthquake, people are continuing to play music in their homes and offices, according the BBC.

“People are playing music, they’re playing it, they’ve got it in their head, it’s been going on for a long time,” one resident told the BBC, adding that she and her friends had played music on the balcony of her home for a decade.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the BBC reported that more than 1,500 people had registered to play a piece of music at an emergency services centre in the town of Beweke.

The BBC’s Chris Morris reports from Bewieke, New Zealand.