Thankfully there have been no fatalities as yet. But there is mass damage to property and infrastructure.
Water is being trucked in. Sewage systems have broken down. There have been dozens and dozens of aftershocks and that will likely continue for weeks or months. The central city looks like a bomb hit it. It is unbelievable that noone was killed. What was the saving grace was that the massive 7.1 quake hit at 4.30am not later in the morning where there would have been hundreds of people downtown.
About 20 per cent of Christchurch was without power last night and a third was without water. It will cost more than $2 billion to repair the damage, and today the city is braced for worse with a heavy storm, with 130km/h winds, expected to hit.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/...
I have been listening to online nz radio since the quake hit and have been hearing stories of houses being basically destroyed, flooding . In rural Canterbury there is also major damage.
The town of Kaiopoi - 17km north of Christchurch - is without power, fresh water and its sewage system is now in ruins.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/...
Early claims indicated about 20 percent of people's homes were now uninhabitable.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/...
Former Christchurch City councillor and current member of the Historic Places Trust Board Anna Crighton said the earthquake had been ''unbelievably destructive''.
''What broke my heart was to see the facade of the 1882 Oxford Terrace Baptist church, the pedament and tableture, just split like paper and I can't see how that is going to be restored.''
Falling chimneys had done a lot of damage, she said.
''I worry for the heritage of the city because the whole character of the city and the what is Christcurch is articulated by those lovely little buildings as well as the big ones,'' she said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/...
A curfew was put in place from 7pm-7am for downtown. It is expected that it will be in place again tonight.
Strong winds are predicted for the region today which may bring down more buildings that were damaged in the initial quake.
Listen to live ongoing coverage here
It could have been so much worse. There were a few serious injuries but no deaths as yet. It will take months if not years to completely recover from this major quake. But compared to the poor people of Haiti, the people of Canterbury dodged a huge bullet.
Also, yesterday there was a plane crash on the West Coast of the South Island, at the town of Fox Glacier. Nine people were killed. Five New Zealanders, one Irish, English, German and Australian.
My thoughts go out to the families of those who died.
As the Prime Minister, John Key, said "It was a sad, bleak day for the south island".
*Last night they had aftershocks of over 4.0 every half an hour or so*
Update:
Winds up up to 130kms are now kicking in across the region.
Update 2:
Civil Defence authorities are advising Christchurch residents, especially those in areas badly affected by yesterday's quake or with significant damage to their properties, to ensure they continue to have contingency plans in place, especially as bad weather is forecast for the Canterbury region.
Jon Mitchell, Canterbury Emergency Management Office Emergency Manager, says that as the emergency enters day two, residents need to look at their longer term plans and prepare for the emergency to continue into next week at least.
"As residents return to their homes or begin to assess damage, they need to be aware of a cold weather front moving across Canterbury throughout the day.
"The forecast indicates that the front will reach Canterbury around mid-morning today, bringing the strong possibility of gale-force winds early on Sunday, followed by rain in the west of the region by Monday.
"The wind may cause further damage to properties and make ongoing repairs difficult," said Mr Mitchell.
"People should remain in their homes and avoid non-essential travel whenever possible, and make provisions to stay with friends or relatives for at least the next 24-48 hours, possibly longer."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/...