US warship diverts to help New Zealand quake evacuation

The 7.8-magnitude tremor which struck just after midnight on Sunday buffeted much of central New Zealand, killing two people and completely cutting off the seaside town of Kaikoura around 150 km (90 miles) north of Christchurch.

The arrival of the HMNZS Canterbury means evacuations from the quake-hit town will be stepped up today. Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said New Zealand had accepted an offer of two United States Navy helicopters, and has had offers of military help from Japan and Malaysia.

Aftershocks have rattled the region during rescue efforts.

Landslides triggered by natural disaster shocks blocked highways leading to the town, and left about 2,000 Kaikoura residents and hundreds of tourists cut off from the outside world, with knocked-out water supplies and sewer systems.

The Associated Press reports that the quake knocked out New Zealand’s emergency call number, 111, for about 10 minutes and forced hundreds of tourists to take to the streets as hotels were evacuated in Wellington. Instead they are bypassing that and will head to the town of Kaikoura to assist with the quake response.

“There are no orchards or postharvest operations based in the affected areas of Kaikoura, Wellington and Hamner, and our shipping programme is coming to an end for the season”.

Prime Minister John Key flew over the destruction in Kaikoura by helicopter as aftershocks kicked up dust from the landslides below.

The fire chief, Hugh Wells, said he realised the community would need to mobilise rapidly because help would not be arriving any time soon.

As they reached the backyard, their hostess said they should actually remain inside, as the house was built to withstand the stress of earthquakes.

China chartered four helicopters to evacuate around 40 nationals from Kaikoura, mostly elderly and children, late on Monday, said Liu Lian, an official at the Chinese Consulate in Christchurch. A geologist told Newshub, which filmed the video, that the cows had likely “surfed” the land as it shifted beneath them.

His tribe, Ngai Tahu, runs a fishing company of the same name.

Bolton said they continually checked the internet to stay on top of any updates.

Canterbury Civil Defence declared a regionwide state of emergency yesterday. But power in some places has been restored, as have limited telecommunications capabilities.

“People worry about earthquakes”, he said, adding that many world leaders had phoned him to offer condolences.

Key said New Zealand’s strict construction codes meant its buildings were high quality and tourists’ chances of being caught in a tremor were “truthfully very low”.

The Red Cross said in a statement that water is running out. But it has brought generators, satellite communications, an inflatable shelter and water supplies to Kaikoura. Sampson will report to U.S. Third Fleet, headquartered in San Diego, while deployed to the Western Pacific as part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet-led initiative to extend the command and control functions of Third Fleet into the region.The destroyer’s stop at a New Zealand port would be the first for a U.S. warship in more than 30 years.