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Earthquake destruction in Christchurch - Source: Supplied by Bill Mallinson -
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Friday afternoon/evening as it happened
11.40am: Inspector Mark Harrison, head of the
Family Liaison Team, says additional police staff have been brought
in to be a point of contact for families. He is urging tourists and
visitors to ring home to reassure family overseas even if they are
not in Christchurch.
Daily briefings are being held with families of the missing to give them direct updates about what's going on. Daily briefings are being held with families of the missing to give them direct updates about what's going on and to pass on important information. He said it is a "personal and private time for many of these people".
11.30am: Labour's Christchurch Central MP Brendon Burns says politicians have to respond as Team Canterbury on this and September 4 was only an entree to what's happened. He says saving heritage buildings is no longer the issue and many will have to be taken down.
We will have to build strong buildings and buildings with beauty to make sure they still bring their own character to this beautiful city of ours, says Burns. Many heritage buildings have gone says Burns who is even questioning whether the cathedral can be rebuilt. "This is bigger than anything our nation has ever faced."
11.15am: Greg O'Connor from the Police Association says they are throwing all their resources behind the whole effort to get the situation under control.
11.12am: Roger Sutton from Orion says they are aiming to have 80% of the power back on tonight. He says damage to the 66,000 volt underground cable network out of the Bromley substation is a major issue. He says they are building an emergency 3km overhead line from Bromley through to Brighton from scratch.
11.05am: Canterbury District Health Board CEO David Meates says the needs of the community don't stop while we're dealing with this event. He says the primary focus is around public health such as boiling water and keeping safe at home.
"We don't want an outbreak of gastro diseases that would
put significant extra strain on services."
GP practices are back up to about 70% capacity and Meates says
they should be the first port of call for people. He is urging
them not to sit at home letting conditions get worse or fretting.
Health officials are concerned about any frail and
elderly people in residential care centres. More are likely to
have to be transferred to other South Island locations.
Hospital facilities are running for people needing urgent
care. The emergency department is back to "almost
normal". Many intensive care patients have been transferred to
maintain capacity in Canterbury to deal with further trauma.
Outpatients and scheduled operations have been cancelled. Health officials are looking at alternatives for non-deferrable treatment such as cancer.
10.55am: Cliff said the 113 bodies in the morgue are being treated with dignity and respect.
10.53am: Superintendent Dave Cliff says people are sneaking into cordoned off areas thinking they are clever. "Frankly it's stupid and ridiculous."
He says rescuers are at risk from falling masonry and one person hit this morning was saved by his helmet. Police are ramping up reassurance patrols around the city. Police are again urging people not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary. Cliff says essential services into the city are being held up by traffic congestion.
10.47am: Bob Parker says they are concentrating on supplying medical facilites and pharmacies. Medical centres are running as normal. Underground power supplies are shattered, Parker says.
10.43am: Civil Defence director John Hamilton says Christchurch will not run out of fuel or food. He says the rain is expected to ease but it will still be cool with temperatures of only 11 degrees at times. He says this is challenging for people whose houses have been damaged. He says their focus is primarily on the urban search and rescue mission and the welfare and wellbeing of people.
10.33am: The Australian Prime Minister is telling her citizens that if they want to help us they should come here on holiday. Julia Gillard says she's sure Australians will want to keep supporting New Zealanders and that includes taking their holiday dollars across the Tasman.
10.30am: Stories of price gouging are beginning to emerge. Facebook has anecdotal evidence of hikes for bottled water, and other essentials. One person says they were charged $15 for a two litre bottle of milk.
10.29am: Army engineers have established two water production facilities. The equipment in New Brighton is a reverse osmosis system that can produce potable water from saltwater sources. It can produce 2000 litres of fresh water per hour.
10.27am: Part of the Japan Cup rugby final, being played this weekend, will be devoted to the victims of Christchurch's earthquake, the Japan Rugby Union says. "Japan Rugby has a strong bond with New Zealand and we feel the deepest sympathy for the families and friends of the earthquake victims," chairman Nobby Mashimo said.
10.20am: The public is being urged not to move road barriers and other traffic management on city streets. Reports have been received about people removing traffic management signs at the Spencerville Road bridge. Officials say the barriers are in place to protect public safety in quake damaged areas and moving the signs could cause public safety issues.
10.00am: The Census will not go ahead on March
8. The last time this happened was during World War II in 1941. It
was also cancelled after the 1931 earthquake in Napier.
"This is not the time to go door to door asking New Zealanders for
information when they're dealing with the aftermath of the
earthquake," Williamson said.
There has been extensive damage to Statistics New Zealand
buildings with significant impacts on census staff.
Williamson said no decision has been made on future dates. "We will
now investigate the feasibility of alternative options," Bascand
said.
To recap: 10am
- seismologists say the quake is behaving as it should
and aftershocks will decrease over time
- the Wizard has had enough and has left the city
- Kiwi troops in Afghanistan have sent messages of support
- no shortage of fuel
- Red Cross staff will be going door-to-door today to check on
people in the suburbs
- St John is taking patients to locations outside of
Christchurch
- The main sewer trunks are seriously munted, says Bob Parker
- Christchurch airport is fully operational
9.59am: Pacifica Shipping says two coastal cargo ships are on their way from Auckland to Canterbury with large volumes of food, water and emergency supplies.
9.57am: The Reserve Bank has posted a map of operational bank ATM machines on its website.
9.55am: Red tape means this week's Lotto jackpot can't be donated to quake relief. A Lotteries Commission spokeswoman says legally they can't divert the prize pool, but they are working out other ways to help.
9.43am: Christchurch airport is fully operational. Air New Zealand and Qantas will be supplying more wide-bodied aircraft to help clear backlogs from Christchurch airport today. Airport CEO Jim Boult says Air NZ is putting on two 747 and a 777. Qantas is bringing over two 737-800 aircraft with police and rescue personnel on board.
9.40am: "The main sewer trunks are seriously munted," says Parker. He says 70 properties in residential areas have been red stickered, many in Lyttelton.
9.35am: Bob Parker says there will be up to 600 search and rescue people on the ground by this evening and they still hope to find people alive. He is reiterating people need to take care of themselves. "We can't control the weather but you can control your own exposure to these conditions."
9.27am: St John continues to transport patients to locations outside of Christchurch including Auckland, Hamilton and Rotorua. The emergency ambulance communications centre in Christchurch remains closed. All South Island calls are being handled by Christchurch staff who have relocated to the communication centre in Auckland.
9.20am: Red Cross staff will be going door-to-door today to check on people in the suburbs. Spokesman David Neal says staff will now be putting their energy into Project Suburbs. He says there are a lot of people who are alone and isolated in their homes.
9.15am: The 111 system is fully operational and the Fire Service is ready to respond despite the lack of reticulated water. "We're well resourced and have more people here than we've ever had," Ditmar says.
9.10am: Area Commander Ross Ditmar from the Fire Service says his crews are still fully in search and rescue mode. He expects the grid search to be completed this morning. Ditmar says the rain isn't all bad and actually reduces the dust. He says management always knows where people are and the service operates under strict safety guidelines.
8.49am: Loose and insecure masonry is to be removed from the damaged Christchurch Cathedral to enable USAR teams to safely search for bodies through the rubble.
8.47am: GNS seismologist Caroline Ashendon says the quake is behaving as it should at this stage and aftershocks will decrease over time. But she says there will be more maginitude 4 and 5 quakes. Experts hope to put out a forecast of what can be expected over the next few weeks but they can't forecast when another big one is coming.
8.40am: Oil companies are urging people not to panic and stock up on petrol because there is no shortage of supply.
8.38am: Chief coroner Neil McLean believes today is the day that the real pressure starts from families wanting their loved ones returned. He says the work is complicated by their Christchurch office being knocked out. Specialists have been brought in to help.
8.36am: Kiwi troops in Afghanistan have sent messages of support to Christchurch.
8.32am: Prince Philip has signed a book of condolences at NZ House in London.
8.31am: Contact Energy has put aside up to $2 million to help customers experiencing hardship following the quake. The fund will be targeted at Contact's Christchurch customers who have been impacted by the earthquake and have trouble paying their energy bill.
8.28am: Even the Christchurch Wizard is leaving. He says he's had enough - and he's gone.
8.24am The New Zealand and Australian cricketers will wear black arm bands and have a minutes silence ahead of tonight's World Cup cricket match in Nagpur. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting says they share in New Zealand's grief.
8.15am: Heatley says once people start returning to the city there will be a demand for accommodation and people will need somewhere to live while their houses are being built. Temporary accommodation such as modular homes will be erected around Canterbury. "We want to get ahead of the game," says Heatley.
To recap 8.00am
- concern as wet, cold weather forecast
- tough and quick decisions to be made about damaged
buildings.
- 103 confirmed dead; 228 missing; 70 live rescues; five bodies
recovered overnight.
- more than 90% of the CBD has been checked and assessed
- Defence Force personnel are supporting the three services with
patrols, engineers and medics.
- Prime Minister John Key is in Wellington today, planning
ahead
- Housing NZ's help line has received over 1800 calls offering
short term accommodation
8.00am: Housing Minister Phil Heatley says Housing New Zealand's help line has received over 1800 calls offering short term accommodation. He said Housing NZ is making sure there is co-ordination matching offers with need. Once offers are registered staff are making sure everyone concerned knows what is involved. For the long term, Housing New Zealand will manage leases for the owner.
7.45am: Prime Minister John Key is in Wellington today. He said government needs to think through what this all means. People will be running out of money and 50,000 people normally work in the CBD cordon.
He said Christchurch is facing a significant rebuild and it will
be some time before the land can be strengthened. Kay said
yesterday's CEO meeting was one of "absolute determination".
Key has heaped praise on the overseas response, saying the help
has been amazing. He says offers of help are still coming in and
any money goes to the people of Canterbury through the Red Cross or
Mayoral Fund. Other offers of equipment and personnel are being
accepted where there is the need. There is no upside to a disaster
like this but our first instincts tell us to rally round and help
each other and that applies in other countries says Key.
He says the focus needs to be on restoring the core services of water, power and sewerage even if the repairs are temporary. Key wants to see the children back to school so they can have a sense of normality back in their lives.
7.38am: Sergeant Gary Manch says army and
police are manning cordons around Sumner where residents from nine
streets were evacuated overnight. Police are asking people to
stay away from the unstable cliffs. He says the odrsdons
clearly marked please bear with us cordons there for safety
reasonjs only really need people to be co-operative fantastic
effort goping on in Christchurcvh if people havent been affected
please stay away from damage zones power being restored slowly
water statiosn available
7.35am: Brownlee praises the workers "down in the ditches" restoring the infrastructure.
7.33am: Brownlee says many of the heritage buildings have killed people and there will be consequences from this event. "Lets get things safe, we need to build for the new environment."
7.30am: Earthquake Response Minister Gerry Brownlee says it is still a civil defence response emergency and people have to go through the grief and mourning. "All of us in Canterbury will know someone who has lost someone." We are very very shaken and traumatised by the events of the last couple of days. "To get over it, you've got to go through it."
7.25am: International teams are working well together and there are no language difficulties. Support is available at the airport and at operational sites, Brown says. He says the US team has aririved with 80 people and 40 tonnes of equipment. The UK team is due this morning with two tonnes of equipment. "Whatever mother nature throws at us, we're there to continue the work," says Brown.
7.20am: Brown says they have had to hold back around the Grand Chancellor because of the danger from aftershocks. Team briefings this morning will look at managing assessment around the Chancellor. Rescuers are focused on the jpb they're trained for. USAR teams are working 12 hour shifts and are in for the long haul "to do this job on behalf of the people of New Zealand".
7.14am: USAR co-ordinator Mitchell Brown says searchers are always positive and looking for any possibility of life but as time goes by "we're doing the tragic job of retrieving bodies".
7.10am: Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Harper says the military is safeguarding the city cordon. He said they are being helped by Singaporean troops who were in Burnham when the quake hit. They are easing the pressure, says Harper. Defence personnel are supporting the three services with patrols, engineers and medics. "It's a national emergency and the powers that be will decide where we are needed."
7.00am: Jim Stuart-Black from Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) said there have been no rescues overnight but they are still conducting searches. The city has been put into a quadrant which is broken down into search sectors. More than 90% of the CBD has been checked. Stuart-Black says they are now assessing Sunmer and Lyttelton. Searchers are being assisted by 20-25 dogs on the ground. Stuart-Black says the listening devices are extremely sensitive and at times they need to switch off all machinery and equipment and listen for the faintest sounds.
6.59am: Police are focused on trying to get families of victims back together, as well as keeping them more up to speed about what is going on. "We are having daily contact and need to increase that further - it's a huge group and they're mourning," says Gibson. He is calling for patience and trust. "We're working as quickly as we can to return their loved ones to them."
6.56am: Police are concerned about people posing as rescuers. Gibson says more officers are coming in to help and some will be deployed into suburbs. People are still being urged to keep off the roads.
6.53am: Parker says the morale of rescuers is strong. "These are highly trained professionals." He says people are getting more and more tired and it helps him personally to have a focus. "Working on stuff helps put other things to one side." Cantabrians need to prepare for the realisation they will know many of the victims.
6.40am: Superintendent Russell Gibson says they are quietly working through the list of the missing and some may already be in the temporary mortuary. He expects the names of some of the deceased to trickle out today.
6.35am: Parker says they are going to have to be pretty hard nosed about public safety going forward and there may be some tough and quick decisions to be made about damaged buildings. "We may need to level whole blocks."
6.29am: People are being urged to keep their properties as secure as possible. "There will be people out there for whom this is just an opportunity," Parker warns. "They just have greed and need and that's a sad reality."
6.28am: Officials are going door to door today to check on residents. Parker said neighbours must help each other and people have to work together. "It's not just the guys in the orange jackets." Food and water is getting into areas but Parker is very concerned that not everyone has been checked.
6.23am: Mayor Bob Parker is worried about the weather, particularly for those without power.
6.22am: Searchers are now going into alleyways and checking rubble where people may have been going back and forwards for lunch.
6.21am: Where toilets are working, use and flush them, then check to see the waste is going away. If not ring the council so they know where the problems are. 200 portable toilets have been distributed.
6.20am: 20,131 calls have been made to helplines.
6.18am: 452 people in five active welfare centres, many people are self evacuating.
6.16am: 594 patients have been through the Emergency Department - 164 admitted, 11 in intensive care; a field hospital is being set up and will be operational by lunchtime; 2000 people have been treated at other medical facilities
6.13am: 10 international teams are on the ground, 559 search and rescue teams operational; 10 personnel have arrived from China; the US team is due at lunch time.
6.11am: 103 now confirmed dead by police - 4 names released; 228 missing; 70 live rescues; five bodies recovered from the CBD overnight.
6.10am: Civil Defence Minister John Carter says the rescuers are doing an "amazing outstanding job", working every hour they can, as rapidly as they can. "They are heroes."
5:35am More water should be available in
Christchurch today. Federated Farmers has arranged another 335,000
litres of water although it does not know exactly where the water
will be delivered.
The majority will be distributed to schools. The
council says the army has desalination plants processing 5000
litres of water an hour in Lyttelton and in New Brighton from 7am
this morning. The Bromley Waste Water Treatment Plant is now
operational.
5:20am Cordons in the city remain tight with a
Chancery Lane building being demolished last night. Securitas House
on the corner of Gloucester Street and Madras Street is now causing
concern and the Grand Chancellor Hotel remains unstable, police
say.
5:02am The Sallies are boosting their presence in
the quake zone. A further 50 Salvation Army staff will be arriving
today and staff are providing up to 2000 meals a day. Lyndon
Buckingham says after damage to its offices in the city, a
headquarters has been set up in Sydenham. He says at the same time
as trying to meet people's needs, they're still in the process of
getting the Salvation Army operations going again.
4:36am Police have issued a warning over people
posing as bogus officials. Police said today people posing as EQC
staff members have been going door-to-door asking questions about
electronic equipment inside the houses, and also people in high
visibility vests have been seen on properties
but disappear quickly when they realise they have been
spotted.
Also, at least two Australians have presenting themselves to the
fire service as USAR or Disaster Victim Identification staff.
Police say locals should be cautious and careful as all legitimate
officials will have ID and be happy to show it. Supt Russell Gibson
said: "Whether the goal for these people is for criminal reasons or
out of ghoulish curiosity it is not acceptable.
4:14am An American USAR team has arrived in
Christchurch and been met by the US Ambassador David Heubner. A
team from the UK is also en route and will join those from
Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and China already here. Once
they arrive there will be nearly 700 experts and volunteers
working on the rescue operation.
3:58am Coroner Sue Johnson says she is hopeful of
releasing two more victims' names this morning. She says their main
concern is getting the right body back to the right family - and
that may take some time.
3:15am British Foreign Office confirmed two
Britons among those killed in quake.
3:00am Recap
The death toll has risen to 102 and police have
released the names of four victims.
Twelve streets have been evacuated from the suburb of
Redcliffs.
Police and urban search and rescue (USAR) continue a rescue and
recovery mission at CBD sites with international teams helping in
several locations.
TV ONE's live coverage resumes with Breakfast at 6am NZT. This will
also be available on a live stream.
2:53am In an official release, Beijing says 20
Chinese students are among those thought to be trapped in the quake
rubble.
"With respect to the reports of trapped Chinese students there, we
are very concerned and our embassy in New Zealand is quickly
checking the situation," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told
reporters on Thursday.
"We have urged the New Zealand side to rescue the Chinese students
there," Ma said in reports on Chinese China Central
Television.
2:29am Quake victims will be honoured during round
two of Super Rugby, SANZAR says. It announced this morning that all
games will observe a minute's silence before kick-off and players
will wear black and red arm-bands to acknowledge those affected in
Christchurch.
"Flags at all of the stadiums hosting Super Rugby games this
weekend will be flown at half-mast while broadcast partners across
the three countries will also show their support during games by
promoting the Red Cross website where people can donate to the
appeal." SANZAR said.
During the first game of the round on Friday evening between the
Highlanders and Chiefs at Carisbrook in Dunedin, the Salvation Army
will hold a food collection before the game and the Red Cross will
also take up a collection.
1:50am Council says three-quarters of homes in
Christchurch now have power and 40% have water. Also, fuel is now
in constant supply and there is no need for panic buying.
1:16am
Five
aftershocks measuring over 3 on the Richter scale
have been felt in the last two hours.
Day three: As it happened is available here.
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentroyalcourtier said on 2011-03-14 @ 21:33 NZDT: Report abusive post
The whole focus of this debate is wrong. There is no reason for any of these buildings to be demolished. It is not a case of which should be saved, but which should be demolished. There are few which cannot be saved. What people are missing is that if a building is demolished unnecessarily, and illegally, there won't be any insurance. Only the city can approve demolition - civil defence cannot do so.
Adam Chc said on 2011-03-09 @ 14:44 NZDT: Report abusive post
As a small business based near the epicentre in Christchurch we are strugeling to survive and simply can not afford a day off. I also do not think I or my staff are reasdy for a day of mourning yet. I am surprised the govenment would even consider this, it shows how out of touch they are to the impact this is having on business and staff.
annej said on 2011-03-08 @ 15:09 NZDT: Report abusive post
I must congratulate Bob Parker for his leadership and his caring nature to all people in Christchurch and his unfaultering continual contact with his people, a fine leader and the restoration of Christchurch should go through him and the council and not left to those who do not care about the uniqueness of Christchurch, sack Brownlee, send him back where he come from.
annej said on 2011-03-08 @ 15:04 NZDT: Report abusive post
At a time when the suffering is entering an unacceptable time frame of two weeks, John Key throws the baby out with the bath water and states that the government will buy the land off people who have suffered so much,this is akin to pulling the rug from underneath those who are stressed,do not know their fate and have lost loved ones, more thought and empathy is needed from central govt and to deal with the bulk of the people and not just the business sector.Thoughts and prayers to all.
Huatoki said on 2011-03-08 @ 13:37 NZDT: Report abusive post
As with every issue he's dealt with, Brownlee crashes in with an ill-advised and inflammatory attitude, then scuttles behind his officials and is unavailable for comment. Christchurch needs unifying, reassuring and competent leadership and Brownlee consistently fails on all three counts. We need resources, not divisiveness. If the minister cannot deliver them quickly and efficiently, he needs to go. We deserve better.