WOODEND, New Zealand (Reuters) — New Zealand emergency services and defense personnel began evacuating hundreds of tourists and residents from the South Island town of Kaikoura on Tuesday (November 15), after a powerful earthquake hit the region, killing two people.
The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday (November 13), destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from high rises in the capital Wellington and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of the South Island.
Kaikoura, a popular base for whale-watching about 150 km (90 miles) northeast of Christchurch and near the epicenter, was completely cut off by massive landslips.
Four large defense force helicopters were flying into the town on Tuesday morning and the Navy’s multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury was heading to the area, ferrying rescues to Woodend, a small town 156km (96 miles) south of Kaikora, according to local media.
Gale-force winds and rain were hampering recovery efforts, and hundreds of aftershocks continued to rock the region.
Around 1,200 tourists were stranded in the town, officials said, with many forced to stay in makeshift campsites and make do with whatever food became available.
“I never thought that I would have crayfish for breakfast in this situation,” said a woman at a campsite.
Long queues formed outside of supermarkets as residents rushed to buy supplies.
Prime Minister John Key flew over Kaikoura on Monday (November 14) and described the landslips in the mountainous area as “just horrendous”.
Key told reporters in Wellington on Tuesday the U.S Navy have offered to assist with rescue efforts, with the USS Sampson arriving in New Zealand as part of the Royal New Zealand Navy’s 75th anniversary celebrations on Wednesday.
Civil Defense estimated 80,000-100,000 landslides had been caused by the quakes.
Hundreds of homes remained without power and telecommunications, with huge cracks in roads, landslips and other damage to infrastructure making it
New Zealand’s Geonet measured Monday’s main quake at magnitude 7.5, while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.8.
Seismologists said the quake appeared to be two near simultaneous tremors which shook much of the country for around two minutes.
New Zealand lies in the seismically active “Ring of Fire”, a 40,000-km arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that encircles much of the Pacific Ocean. Around 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur in this region.
