Cows stranded by landslides after New Zealand quake

There are said to be around 1,000 more people who still need to be evacuated from Kaikoura and a state of emergency remains for the Canterbury region as authorities clean up from the quake.

It was hoped that land routes to the south of Kaikoura could be cleared and reopened by the weekend.

The town of Kaikoura, a popular base for whale-watching about 150 km (90 miles) northeast of Christchurch, the South Island’s main city, was completely cut off by massive landslips.

Jolts of magnitudes 5.8 and 5.2 centred about 15km east of Seddon, north-east of Kaikoura, were strongly felt throughout the region yesterday, bringing to more than 1,000 the number of aftershocks since the big 7.5 quake in the early hours of Monday morning.

The tremor ignited painful memories for Christchurch residents, which was devastated five years ago by a 6.3 tremor that killed 185 people.

In another viral moment of the day, as New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English was telling the media how the government plans to help the hardest hit areas during Parliament questions, he was interrupted by an aftershock on live TV.

The aftershocks have been distributed from the northern part of South Island, notably near Seddon and Kaikoura, to Paraparaumu and Wellington on North Island, which have experienced M4.9 temblors. The New Zealand Herald is reporting that buildings have collapsed in the towns of Cheviot and Kaikoura, near the epicentre.

With more than 800 aftershocks recorded since the first big quake on Monday, anxious residents in the upper South Island are living on a knife edge hoping that the worst is over.

Other tourists also said they planned to continue their trips, and travel agencies said they hadn’t noticed a drop off in bookings.

Civil Defense officials warned people to stay away from the Hapuku River, where landslides from the earthquakes had blocked the river.

“The building is at significant risk of collapse so now police and fire are conducting operation to seal off the area”, NZ Fire Service regional commander Brendan Nally told commercial radio.

Cows stranded after powerful NZ quake. “Once you find the tree, you approach the owners and tell them you would like to use it”, Pauze said.

The magnitude 7.8 quake struck the South Island just after midnight.

He said the buildings evacuated included the national headquarters for the Red Cross, the Thai Embassy, the headquarters for New Zealand Rugby and an Anglican cathedral.

Most of the impact from the Christchurch quake was due to damage to tourism infrastructure such as accommodation and other facilities, Leung said.

“It’s been a shaky experience, all good though”, Kurt Sapwell said when Prime Minister John Key paid a visit to the town.

The country sits on the Pacific “ring of fire” fault line and has a long history of earthquakes.