Tauranga woman Debbie Te Pania feels like a miracle has happened after fearing her brother died in the February 22 Christchurch earthquake, but now knows he is alive.

When she did not hear from him after the quake Debbie assumed he was among the dead yet to be formally identified by police.

Debbie Te Pania burst into tears when she found out her brother, pictured, was still alive. See video interview with Debbie below.

Her brother, Stuart Murrell, has lived in Christchurch for 17 years.

Last week Debbie heard from police that Stuart was not dead.

He was alive, but had lost his cell phone in the earthquake and did not have Debbie's new contact number after she moved to Tauranga from the Hawke's Bay.

Their mother recently moved too, so Stuart did not have her correct contact details.

He had no landline phone in Christchurch so Debbie kept trying his mobile.

After days of unsuccessful attempts to contact Stuart following the earthquake, Debbie contacted the Red Cross and reported him missing, but officials at the organisation could not find him because they incorrectly spelt his surname.

'At the beginning, there was no cell phone coverage so I waited for him to get in contact with me,” says Debbie.

'We tried him, but we couldn't get through.”

Debbie contacted Rise Up Tauranga, an organisation helping Christchurch residents temporarily moving to Tauranga.

Rise Up Tauranga suggested she ask Tauranga police for help and that's when they told her to ring Christchurch police.

With the correct spelling of Stuart's surname they were able to track him down.

She spoke to him on the phone soon after.

'I just burst into tears and he said ‘stop crying, stop crying'.

'I just think a miracle happened.”