Hastings quake damage could be $5 million

MARTY SHARPE/Dominion Post

CLEAN-UP BEGINS: Glenys Millar, Hastings' Dollars and Sense shop manager, surveys the damage caused by last night's earthquake.

GNS Science

WHERE IT STRUCK: The 5.9 quake was felt in Hawke's Bay and the surrounding region.

GNS Science

QUAKE ACTIVITY: The seismicity map shows the current earthquake (indicated by a star) in the context of ten years of 'deep' (greater than 40 km) seismicity (indicated by coloured points). The inset shows a depth cross section of the seismicity and current earthquake, projected onto the plane W-E.

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Damage claims from last night's Hastings earthquake could total about $5 million, despite initial reports of little damage.

The 5.9 magnitude quake struck at 11.25pm yesterday and was centred about 10km southwest of Hastings at a depth of 30km. A 3.5 magnitude aftershock was recorded shortly after the first earthquake.

Earthquake Commission insurance manager Lance Dixon said this afternoon that 124 claims had been already been received for things such as damage to interior walls, chimneys, toilets and hot water cylinders.

It was early days but it looked like the total claims could run to about $5 million, he said.

"When you hear a report on the radio of no damage, we normally get a couple of hundred claims. The majority of the damage is inside properties," he said.

The first rush of claims normally happened in the first three or four weeks and tapered off until the three month claim period ran out.

Mr Dixon said the damage did not appear to be as bad, and the claims appeared smaller, than after the 6.8 magnitude earthquake which struck Gisborne before Christmas.

Hastings District Council operations services manager Kevin Deacon said just seven residents rang asking for their properties to be inspected. Building inspectors found nothing but superficial and cosmetic cracking.

"The building officers had a walk through town and there is no obvious sign of damage to buildings at all," Mr Deacon said.

Alarms were set off by the quake and the Napier-Gisborne railway line was closed while it was inspected for damage.

Derek Quilliam, who lives in Clive, just north of Hastings said the quake was "pretty frightening".

"You just weren't sure how big it was going to get." He said it felt like it lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.

The shaking woke him and his wife up "and then there was a real jolt and thump – it happened a number of times".

"It was quite alarming – you knew it was a big one."

Duffy and Finns bottle store attached to Hastings Pak'n'Save appears to have been the worst hit, losing dozens of bottles of wine and spirits.

"We'd have lost close to $10,000 I'd suggest. We had a team of people working from midnight till 3am. It was pretty easily cleaned up," shop manager Rowan Geddes said.

Manager of the Hastings Dollars and Sense store Glenys Millar arrived at work to find numerous goods off shelves, and was unlikely to open till later this morning.

"I was going to come in last night to clean up, but I thought 'no, it'll still be there tomorrow'. It's not too bad really. I thought there would be more glass on the floor," Ms Millar said.

The quake was strong enough to prompt Hastings Civil Defence to take the precaution of activating its emergency plan, but emergency services appeared surprised at a lack of response by the public.

A spokesman from the Hastings Fire Service said the quake rattled the building but not one emergency call was received.

"When it happened we thought `here we go', but there was just nothing," he said.

Police in Hastings and Napier said they had not heard of any significant damage as a result of the quake but there were reports of brief power outages in some suburbs.

- with NZPA

Newest First

Esther   #1   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I felt the earthquake in Feilding. Our bed rocked and the house creaked.

Jill Stewart   #2   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

We live in Taradale and it was very frightening as one never knows if if this is the big one and when will it stop, we have no damage to report though when we went to the bathroom found the floor all wet and realised that the cistern had slopped water onto the floor thats how much the house moved

jimmy   #3   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

i was scared. Scared! i cried too. ..... mummy?

Katie   #4   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

My dad woke up and he came a got me out of my bed and we stood under the doorway. He wrapped me in my duvet. I thought my dad was shaking my bed, but he wasn't it was the earthquake. We live in Napier. It was a bit scary. Our flat mate came and stood in his doorway too. Katie (age 6)

Deb   #5   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

l have never felt one so big and l been living here for 47 yrs had a few things on floor, can't find my cat.

Brady   #6   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I felt this in Whitby, Wellington!!

Richard   #7   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Our House shook more during the big Gisborne one, we live in Marewa

Matty   #8   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I live in Havelock North and didn't think it was that bad. I lived in Wellington for 14 years though and I guess it was pretty similar to a 5.9 we had there in about 1995. Meh.

Michelle   #9   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

It was really weird Im in Hampden (south of Oamaru) in the South Island and I awoke last night feeling a small quake I even woke my husband up and told him at the time, could I have felt it all the way down here???

Anna and Margot   #10   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

poor lady who lost her cat!

we live in the wairarapa and didnt feel a thing... cant have been that big. HA

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