‘Whole mountain has moved over’ - PM
Prime Minister John Key has given a graphic indication of the huge effort that will be needed to reopen the main highway to quake-smashed Kaikoura.
Pointing to a massive slip while flying above State Highway 1 yesterday, Key said: ‘‘I just don’t see how you can ever repair that bit of road. The whole mountain has moved over.’’
He flew into Kaikoura with Transport Minister Simon Bridges in an RNZAF NH-90 helicopter.
Between 700 and 1000 people were still waiting to be evacuated from the township yesterday morning, after about 200 people were evacuated by helicopter on Tuesday. Road links to the coastal town were cut by the magnitude7.5 earthquake that smashed the northeast of the South Island shortly after midnight on Monday. By yesterday morning, Geonet had recorded more than 1500 aftershocks.
Navy multi-role ship HMNZS Canterbury arrived, with supplies, off Kaikoura yesterday morning to help with the evacuation. Its initial task was to work out how to get crew members ashore.
The ship can take 600 passengers ‘‘in relative comfort’’, said Air Commodore Darryn Webb, acting Commander Joint Forces New Zealand. ’’Air travel has certain restrictions in terms of personal belongings. That is not the case with the Canterbury, she is a big ship which is designed to take troops into operational theatres.’’
Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington is also off Kaikoura, with Civil Defence director Sarah Stuart-black saying it would be used to help try to find the best place for the Canterbury to pick up evacuees.
The USS Sampson – a US Navy destroyer visiting for the New Zealand Navy’s 75th anniversary celebrations in Auckland – and the frigate HMNZS Te Kaha are also en route to provide support. The Sampson will deploy two helicopters to help as needed.
Australia’s HMAS Darwin was expected to arrive at Kaikoura yesterday evening, adding its Seahawk helicopter to the effort. Canada’s HMCS Vancouver is also heading to Kaikoura, as is New Zealand tanker ship HMNZS Endeavour.
In Wellington, the New Zealand Defence Force headquarters, where normally around 1200 people work, was closed. NZDF provided few details, but Radio NZ reported staff working in the building were told it had been declared uninhabitable and they might not return for a year.
Earthquake damage to two other buildings was also causing concern.
Cordons remain in place around 61 Molesworth St, near Parliament, with the street and neighbouring businesses remaining shut yesterday until another inspection takes place. One of the building’s main support beams snapped in half after the main quake, raising concerns a significant aftershock would dramatically increase its risk of collapsing.
On Tuesday, engineers declared the eight-storey building to be ‘‘at significant risk of collapse’’, and it and adjacent buildings were hurriedly evacuated about 5pm. There was no movement from the building overnight.
Cracks appeared in a building on the corner of Taranaki and Manners streets after the quake, and emergency services were called to the building at 1.22am yesterday after a person heard cracking noises.
Fire service central communications shift manager Jan Wills said fire crews had been inside to inspect the building, ‘‘and there’s no danger of a collapse’’.
The footpath outside the building had been blocked off since Tuesday, because of the risk of falling glass.
An apartment building in central Wellington has also been deemed potentially unsafe and evacuated.
In Kaikoura, local MP Stuart Smith said water supplies were still a problem and there were concerns about diesel for farmers.
He said there were concerns for tourism companies such as Whale Watch because the lifting of the seabed in the earthquake had impacted on their ability to operate. Whale and dolphin-watching boats were reported to be resting on rock at a Kaikoura marina after the seabed was lifted in the earthquake.
Yesterday morning, Kaikoura District Council said power had been restored to parts of Kaikoura but it could be two to three weeks before all rural areas had electricity again. The Vodafone network was available for emergency calls only in Kaikoura, while Spark had temporary services for calls and texts only. - Fairfax NZ