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New Zealand quake efforts switch to supplying cut-off communities

Xinhua, November 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

New Zealand emergency services have moved to reopening areas cut off by Monday's deadly 7.8-magnitude quake as the evacuation from the coastal town of Kaikoura wound down Thursday.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) evacuated about 600 stranded tourists from Kaikoura by air and sea Wednesday, including 449 people and seven tonnes of baggage taken to Christchurch aboard navy supply ship HMNZS Canterbury.

About 1,000 tourists were trapped in Kaikoura, on the northeast of the South Island, after massive landslides cut all road and rail links into the town.

Civil Defence emergency management director Sarah Stuart-Black said Thursday that vehicles were able to reach the town from the south for the first time on Wednesday.

"The road is still high risk and is not yet open to private vehicles. We are doing everything possible to get the road open, but we're asking people not to attempt to use the route for access in or out of Kaikoura until we've finished the urgent work needed to open it safely," Stuart-Black said in a statement.

"The focus for the response moving forward will be on the delivery of supplies to quake affected areas, restoring access into and from affected communities and supporting people affected by the quake."

The NZDF described the evacuation of displaced people and tourists as a complete success.

The NZDF's disaster relief operation would now focus on the delivery of vital aid supplies to quake-damaged communities, Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the Acting Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said in a statement late Wednesday.

"Monday's earthquake cut off land access to Kaikoura and other communities close to its epicenter so the only way we can get food, water and other basic necessities to these areas is by air," said Webb.

The NZDF has mobilised about 500 personnel, at least 11 aircraft and four vessels to support the government's earthquake response.

Warships from Australia, Canada and the United States, which are in the country to take part in the New Zealand navy's 75th anniversary celebrations, have been retasked to support the national relief effort.

Surveillance aircraft from Japan and the United States conducted surveys of quake-damaged areas on Wednesday. Endit