Disruption follows quake

BY STAFF REPORTERS

LATEST: Christchurch is being pounded by aftershocks tonight, with the largest one a short time ago measuring 5.4 on the Richter Scale, according to GNS.

The city has suffered hundreds of aftershocks in the wake of Saturday morning's 7.1 magnitude quake, but after a relatively quiet afternoon Christchurch has been peppered with tens of smaller jolts.

The shocks are currently rolling through every few minutes. There have been several measuring over 5, the biggest, at 11:40pm, was 5.4.

Prime Minister John Key will visit earthquake-ravaged Christchurch tomorrow as city leaders and the Government meet to decide how to handle the re-build of the city.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker told a press conference this afternoon a "significant'' amount of funding would be injected into the Canterbury region.

He warned the short-term financial outlook was still challenging.

A Government-led group, headed by Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee, would ensure the city got the money and resources needed to start re-building its infrastructure, Parker said.

"The reality is it is still going to be a long, hard process but the long-term financial picture is sound.''

The Government had promised a "significant amount of money'' would be given to Christchurch, Waimakariri and Selwyn communities.

"There will be a significant flow of funds into this part of the province,'' Parker said.

About 2000 electricity customers were still without power but Orion chief executive Roger Sutton said it aimed to halve that number by late tonight.

The company had set itself the ambitious target of restoring power to all users by the end of the week.

Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said some smaller busineses had started struggling to pay staff when their businesses were still closed.

It had become a "critical isuse'' for many already and Townsend said outside help would be needed to help those retailers struggling to cover costs while the doors were shut.

Some businesses within the inner-city cordon were considering relocating.

Townsend said the city needed to "send a message'' to Australia and other countries that Christchurch was still open for business.

The perception, especially from some Australian media, was the central business area had been "destroyed'' in the earthquake.

This week's Canterbury Champions business awards had been postponed, he said.

Meanwhile, Red Cross New Zealand had formed the Canterbury Earthquake Relief Fund.

Chief executive John Weir said donations of $300,000 plus another $1.1 million in pledges had already been received. The Christchurch mayoral relief fund, which Parker said had attracted "several million dollars'' would be merged into the  new fund to be administered by the regions' mayors.

Officials were concerned about changing weather tonight but believed a cold front would not be as severe as first predicted.

Tonight's cordon was bounded by Armagh, St Asaph, Durham and Madras Sts.

The cordon would be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Government announced $5 million contribution

Prime Minister John Key has announced a $5m donation to the mayoral fund set up to rebuild earthquake ravaged canterbury.

There have been donations of 6 m to the fund, set up by Mayor Bob Parker on Saturday, from the private sector.

Cabinet has appointed Minister for Economic Development Gerry Brownlee to oversee the rebuild, Mr Key said.

Mr Key will not delay his trip to Europe later this week.

The cost of repairs from Saturday's magnitude 7.1 quake is estimated to be $2 billion.

At least 100,000 households are expected to claim around $1bn from the Earthquake Commission (EQC).

Cabinet held an "extensive" three hour discussion today, Mr Key said.

Cabinet was briefed by civil defence minister John Carter and agricultural minister David Carter today. They outlined damage to infrastructure such as roads and the sewage system as well to farms. Engineers are still investigating the extent of this. But the cost of repairs to this would have to be met by central Government.

A large number of schools are expected to be re-opened on Wednesday and rail lines later this week.

Experts are also on route from Australia to help the Earthquake Commission. There were 4000 calls to a 24 hour help line.

EQC had received 15000 claims so far.

Power almost restored

Power has been returned to 98 percent of Christchurch while 90 percent of all homes now have water, but city officials are worried about falling masonry as aftershocks continue.

All buses will be back on city roads tomorrow, with some exceptions.

But a city-wide boil water notice remains in effect while Christchurch City Council engineers conduct water tests over the next 24 hours.

Council city environment general manager Jane Parfitt told The Press residents were urged to boil all drinking water for three minutes.

Fifty streets still had no mains water and the council had dispatched water tankers and portaloos to 13 locations across the city.

Sewerage infrastructure had taken a hit with one pumping station and two wastewater treatment pumping stations "beyond repair,'' Parfitt said.

Rubbish collections had resumed today and although the Litchfield St bus exchange had been cleared by structural engineers, a decision on whether buses would run tomorrow will not be made until late today.

Structural engineers had completed their assessments of buidings in the central business district.

Parfitt described the situation across Christchurch as "ordered and measured.''

Full updates on city services and other important information will be released at a press conference at 4pm

Civil Defence Minister John Carter , Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker  and representatives from fire, police, Civil Defence, army, Orion and other agencies will speak at that gathering.

Environment Canterbury this afternoon said the Metro bus network would resume except for routes 51 (Tower Junction-New Brighton) and 480 (Kainga).

Services to the inner city will be re-routed with pickup and drop-offs limited to Colombo St near Victoria Square and South City.

Meanwhile, the newly opened civic building suffered some interior damage but will stay closed until next Tuesday while a detailed structural assessment is done.

Debris falling as aftershocks continue

Police have cordoned off Westminster and Cranford Streets in the central city as debris begins to fall.

Christchurch is continuing to be rocked by aftershocks, as officials turn their attention to dangerous chemicals that could be leaking inside buildings damaged by Saturday's earthquake.

Police have just ordered a couple out of a block of shops on the corner of Westminster and Cranford Street in St Albans because of falling debris.

The building is set to be demolished this afternoon.

Civic building damaged

Christchurch City Council's new civic building in Hereford St suffered some internal damage during Saturday's massive quake.

The council said the building did what it was designed to do ``preserving life rather than keeping the interior in good order''.

The damage was mainly to fixtures and fittings, but a detailed structural assessment was under way.

``Our focus is on clearing areas for key staff who are working on the city recovery operation and then we will work on opening the building to the public.''

All council services operating out of the building will be unavailable until it reopens.

Residents return to city

Tentative Christchurch central city residents edged back into their homes today to collect belongings.

With many buildings in the CBD condemned and at risk of collapsing, those living in neighbouring properties trod carefully as they collected up personal belongings.

Among those who returned home today was broadcasting student Holly Carran, who was asleep in her second floor Lichfield St when the quake struck at 4.35am on Saturday.

``It was quite lucky because I'd only walked home from town about an hour earlier,'' she told NZPA.

``It was terrifying, especially when you look out the window and the building across the road has fallen right over.''

Ms Carran said she and her two other flatmates had packed minimally when they were evacuated on Saturday, not knowing how long they might be away.

"Our place has the all-clear to go into, but I guess it depends how long the city is closed,'' she said.

``We called our landlord and they've got about 70 other buildings which have been red-stickered, so it could be a while.''

Buildings on which structural engineers have placed red stickers are no-go zones,  yellow stickers  provide restricted access and green stickers allow access.

Fellow broadcasting student Lloyd Burr said his Poplar Lane flat was yet to be assessed, but he had returned to collect up some items today as well.

``Just going in you're nervous. Walking up the stairs there's paint and plaster everywhere,'' he said.

``When I got into my room it's just a disaster. It looks like I've really pissed someone off and he's come round to teach me a lesson.''

Mr Burr said he had run straight onto the street in his pyjamas following the quake, and was not able to get back in until 3pm.

``The police just wouldn't let me back past the cordon, and when I did get in there was an aftershock and I was out of there.''

Mr Burr said he had spoken to several people who lived in the inner city who also had shredded nerves.

``When you're in the building every gust of wind feels like it's going to bring it down.''

Aftershocks continue

An aftershock of around 3 on the Richter scale struck around 12:20pm, but a much larger jolt of 4.5 occurred around 12:35. 

Another quake at 2:48 measured 4.1, and another at 3.07pm measured 4.4 but was at a depth of just 12km, and was felt strongly in the city.

GNS Science said the latest quake occurred at a depth of 20 km, 20km south-east of Darfield, 20km north of Leeston, and 30km west of Christchurch.

Environment Canterbury pollution prevention manager Don Chittock said people going in to business premises this morning were discovering spills of hazardous substances.
 
About half a dozen spills had been dealt with already.
 
The major concern was hazardous substances leaking into groundwater supplies or into stormwater systems.
 
"Contain it on site, if you can," he said.
 
Significant spills should be reported to the Fire Service and smaller discharges to ECan's pollution hotline on (03) 366 4663 or 0800 765 588.

Residents warned

Health Minister Tony Ryall is urging earthquake hit Cantabrians to heed public health messages.

Ryall said a team of health specialists was arriving in Christchurch today after the massive quake.

A water sanitation specialist engineer had flown in this morning to help assess damage and work on remediation. A medical officer of health and five health protection officers had also arrived and would stay until Thursday. Six defence force personnel specialising in environmental health would also arrive in Christchurch today.

Mr Ryall said people should carefully heed public health messages, including:

* Boil water for three minutes before drinking, brushing teeth or washing/preparing food.
* Use as little water as possible to flush your toilet if you have water.
* Remember hand washing stops diseases spreading.
* Look after each other - keep in touch with families, friends and neighbours and support each other.
* Avoid contact with sewage. Don't gather fish or shellfish in the sea or from Canterbury rivers.
* If you are unwell with a minor injury or illness and need medical assistance call your General Practice or nearest after hours surgery.

Ryall said people should go to the Emergency Department in an emergency only.

He said some medical staff had seen damage to their own homes - some quite badly - but they had put patients' needs ahead of their own.

"Today people throughout the health sector from primary GP clinics to Christchurch hospital and everything in between - are back at work even though they too will have suffered the impact of one of New Zealand's worst earthquakes," Ryall said.
 
"It's been heartening to see how all health services have pulled together to support each other and the community - from GPs and nurses in primary care, to public, community and environmental health workers, the aged care sector, all hospitals and pharmacies as well as emergency services and Healthline."

Ryall thanked radiographers and lab staff who cancelled scheduled strike action at Christchurch hospital to lend a hand.

He was in regular contact with the local health authorities.

Civil Defence minister briefs Cabinet

Cabinet has convened to talk about the Government's response to the Christchurch quake.

Civil Defence Minister John Carter took up a seat next to Prime Minister John Key before the meeting got under way this morning.

Key is expected to outline any decisions at his post-Cabinet press conference this afternoon.

Key said last night that central government would look at where it could step in to fix local infrastructure, such as rail, road and water, that was usually funded by local government.
"We can't expect them to pick up that tab twice."

Police and army resources would also be considered.

Key said Cabinet would also appoint a civil defence commissioner to oversee reconstruction and aid. "This isn't a short-term thing."

The Earthquake Commission expects claims from at least 100,000 households to cost $1b.

The Government will have to decide if it gives help to people without insurance, which Mr Key said was "a moral hazard".

Providing assistance to those people would discourage others from buying policies. But not helping could leave people in "financial hardship".

Key said he was pleased at how Civil Defence had responded to the emergency.

Civil defence planners warned, however, that many people in the country were without adequate emergency kits or plans, and some households risked significant financial hardship after a natural disaster because they were uninsured.

Stopbanks damaged

Environment Canterbury is hoping there will be no need to evacuate people living near stopbanks along the Waimakariri River.
 
Chief executive Bryan Jenkins said this afternoon's high tide - due around 2pm - and the peak flow in the river would not coincide.
 
ECan river engineers had calculated the peak of around 800 cubic metres a second would be reached around 8pm.
 
Jenkins said the area of concern was downstream from the old Waimak bridge.
 
However, engineers had checked out the stopbanks and  they had sustained some damage from liquefaction.

More than 2500 people have phoned a 24 hour earthquake helpline, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said.

Five Work and Income offices in Christchurch are confirmed safe and will open today to provide emergency support, she said.

The helpline number is 0800 77 9997.

"It has been pretty quiet overnight, with about 16 calls received from midnight until 5am and then a spike of 76 after that," Ms Bennett said.

Staff are working to call 16,000 elderly people in the area to see if they need help. So far they have reached 10,000.

Work and Income sites in the city centre, Papanui, Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Sydenham are closed, as well as CYF's Torren house.

Offices in Linwood, Hornby, Riccarton, New Brighton and Shirley are open.

State of emergency extended

A state of emergency in earthquake-ravaged Christchurch has been extended until Wednesday to ensure public safety.

Much of the ruined city remains cordoned off this morning, while search and rescue teams assess buildings for damage.

The main rail line south of Christchurch has reopened, however, following repairs.

There will be limited court sittings in Christchurch today after the court house was deemed safe by structural engineers, but jury trials have been postponed because of the unlikely availability of jurors.

Jurors summoned for jury duty are advised to call later today on the Christchurch jury service phone number 03 962 4399 for further instructions.

The state of emergency was due to be lifted at 12pm today. Extending it means the council has more power over access to the central city.

There are still around 60 streets where water mains are shut off. The council says the focus is now on restoring those and improving the reliability of water supply.

Some water and wastewater pump stations are still out of service due to loss of power or significant damage to buildings and plant.

Business owners are advised to check their premises for damage and to engage a structural engineer if they are in any doubt about the safety of their building.

Last night, more that 200 people sought refuge in welfare centres set up across the region, with the Linwood welfare centre hosteing around 90 people overnight; Addington another 90, and Burnside hosted 20 people.

A shelter was also set up in Kaiapoi, at Kaiapoi North School after 150 people were evactuated from the Riverlands Motor Camp at Waimakariri for fear of flooding.

A council spokesperson said anyone wishing to volunteer assistance should contact the call centre on 03 9418999. All volunteers will be coordinated from the call centre.

All rail services in the Christchurch area likely to be restored by tomorrow

The main south line, south from Christchurch, has reopened with a 40kmh speed restriction and 25kmh restriction on bridges between Christchurch and Ashburton, KiwiRail public affairs manager Kevin Ramshaw said this morning.

The Midland Line, west of Otira in the Southern Alps, was open and the line between Otira and Christchurch was expected to open this afternoon, again with speed restrictions.

Freight traffic was expected to resume this afternoon and the Tranz Alpine to run from tomorrow.

North of Christchurch, the main north line, which sustained 4km of damage in the Kaiapoi area including damage to the abutments of one bridge, was expected to reopen tomorrow.

In the meantime, freight was being off-loaded at Rangiora and moved the 30km into Christchurch by road, Mr Ramshaw said.

Tranz Coastal passenger services were expected to resume between Christchurch and Picton on Wednesday.

Threat from rising rivers

Quake-ravaged Canterbury was spared the worst from wild weather overnight but the region could still be hit by floods from rising rivers.

Emergency services, councils and other agencies were yesterday called to "numerous instances" of felled trees and power lines, some of which knocked out power and blocked roads, as high winds hammered the region in the wake of Saturday's pre-dawn magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

The weather overnight was not as severe as authorities feared, but flooding could yet hit the region as stopbanks weakened by the quake may not be able to withstand rising waters.

Civil Defence said the Waimakariri River could burst its stopbanks today if it continued to rise at the expected rate.

Engineers would this morning inspect the stopbanks.

Canterbury also continues to be rocked by aftershocks, with dozens of quakes of up to 4.8 magnitude striking overnight.

Hundreds of people spent their second night away from home in aid shelters in Christchurch after their houses were destroyed in the quake.

Free payphones

Residents of quake-devastated Christchurch are being offered free use of payphones as Telecom works to restore telephone services through the region.

Telecom said today that it had made payphones in and around Christchurch free for local, national and mobile calls.

But it urged customers to use the phones responsibly, by keeping calls brief and making important calls only.

Telecom said that 111 services were fully available and fixed line infrastructure and Telecom mobile networks were working well.

Volunteers rally for St John

St John ambulance staff are now focusing on the welfare of the community as Christchurch and the surrounding areas slowly recover.

Following the initial earthquake, St John ambulance and events volunteers in the Christchurch area were contacted by SMS message mid morning on Saturday 4 September, calling for volunteers to assist throughout the day if required.

These volunteers make up the teams currently supporting the people of Christchurch at the three welfare centres.  Around 85 volunteers have answered the call and are working three shifts.

Extra St John Friends of the Emergency Department volunteers were called in on the day of the earthquake to help at Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department. These non-clinical volunteers were available to support patients and their families or supporters who came to the emergency department.

Behind the scenes, other St John members have played key support roles to their colleagues who are working by preparing meals, keeping supplies of water topped up, and helping clean work areas.

Chris Haines, St John Regional Operations Manager said the earthquake had shown the strength of the St John family. 

``It's been great to see so many people pulling together and working through what is a very difficult and uncomfortable situation for all.''

CBD off limits

Inner-city Christchurch remains off-limits to an estimated 50,000 workers today and the city's mayor has warned it could be months before life returns to normal after the shattering earthquake.

Damage to buildings and properties from Saturday's earthquake came with an estimated $2 billion bill but business and city leaders say a "silver lining" will be the injection of money to rebuild the city.

An inner-city cordon and curfew remained last night and the state of emergency has been extended to midday Wednesday Spetember 8. Public buildings such as the Christchurch courthouse, central library and Christ Church Cathedral will remain shut.

At 8pm last night, the council narrowed a cordon from Durham St/Cambridge Tce, Montreal, Armagh and Kilmore streets to a new area bounded by Armagh St, Durham St/Cambridge Tce, Madras St and St Asaph St.

This morning the council expected to lift the cordon from Colombo St north of the Square to Cambridge Tce and in Cathedral Square.

Lifting the other cordons around Manchester St may not happen until at least the middle of the week. Decisions were made as buildings were assessed by structural engineers, who have been issuing red (no entry), yellow (restricted access) and green (all clear) stickers.

The Christchurch City Council's newly opened headquarters in Hereford St will remain closed until September 14. Other council service centres will remain closed, as will libraries and swimming pools until they have been structurally assessed.

Parker said workers based inside the cordoned area should not go to work.

Council staff had not yet inspected other buildings outside that zone. Employers had to take personal responsibility and decide if their staff could return.

"We don't want employees coming into the CBD. That area is closed to the public because it is a dangerous area."

Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury's medical officer of health, said no building owners should allow staff or the public to enter shops or workplaces until they had been cleared by a structural engineer. "The message for people is if in doubt, stay out."

Schools, except for those in Rangiora, and all city buses will not operate until at least Wednesday and Parker said there would be "a significant amount of disruption to public life".

Parker praised the efforts of workers and volunteers and said it was a miracle no-one had been killed.

"This has been the most extraordinary, miraculous event. It is unbelievable we have been spared that."

One person remained in Christchurch Hospital's intensive care unit with serious injuries after being hit by falling debris. According to the Civil Defence website, about 100 people were treated at the hospital on Saturday with earthquake-related injuries.

But the scale of the disaster was "enormous" and residents needed to understand things would not return to normal for "a significant amount of time".

"This was a moment of intense violence that ripped apart a community in 60 seconds. Yesterday (on Saturday) we were glad to be alive. Today (yesterday) we are worried about our lives."

Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said the most important issue for retailers was about personal safety and business owners were urged not to take personal risks to re-open.

Owners were advised to contact staff and update them on when their workplaces would resume trading.

Property owners should get advice from structural engineers before returning to their buildings.

Fewer than 5000 customers should still be without power by this morning, Orion chief executive Roger Sutton said.

There was the danger of lines lying on the ground and he urged everyone to treat all lines as live. Staff would be working for the rest of the week restoring power and making urgent repairs.

Police said there had been two incidents where "known criminals" impersonated tradesmen to enter the cordon area.

- © Fairfax NZ News