New Zealand emergency services and defense personnel evacuated hundreds of tourists and residents from a small South Island town amid more strong aftershocks yesterday, after a powerful earthquake killed two people. The magnitude 7.8 tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday, destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from buildings in the capital, Wellington, and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of the ruggedly beautiful South Island. As aftershocks continued to rattle the region, emergency services cordoned off streets in Wellington and evacuated several buildings due to fears one of them might collapse.
Clouds of dust created by a strong aftershock on Monday hang above the Clarence River, which was blocked by landslides following an earthquake north of Kaikoura, New Zealand, on Sunday.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the vacant building appeared to have suffered structural damage when the land it was on subsided in the earthquake. A fire service official said a major structural beam had “snapped like a bone.” The town of Kaikoura, a popular base for whale-watching about 150km northeast of Christchurch, the South Island’s main city, remained cut off after massive landslides destroyed roads. Four New Zealand Defence Force helicopters flew into the town yesterday morning and two Royal New Zealand Navy vessels were heading to the area carrying supplies and to assist with the evacuation, Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand acting commander Air Commodore Darryn Webb told TVNZ. “We’re looking to do as many flights as we can out of Kaikoura today,” he said.
About 400 of the 1,200 tourists stranded in the town were flown out yesterday, including 12 people with a variety of injuries, officials said. The Red Cross, which used defense force helicopters to bring in emergency generators, satellite communications and water containers, said water in the town was running out. Mark Solomon, a leader of South Island’s indigenous Maori Ngai Tahu community, which has tourism and fisheries businesses around Kaikoura, said the local marae, a Maori meeting place, had received 1,000 people since Monday morning. Many slept overnight in the communal hall or in vehicles outside. The community fed them with crayfish, a delicacy for which the South Island town is famous. With no power, the tanks that hold the expensive crustaceans had stopped pumping. “It’s better to use the food than throw it in the rubbish, so we sent it up to the marae to feed people,” Solomon told reporters by telephone.
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Hundreds of tourists and residents remained stranded in the town of Kaikoura and faced a third disrupted night after a powerful quake early Monday cut off train and vehicle access. New Zealand military officials said they were on target to evacuate about 200 people by helicopter on Tuesday as a major rescue operation unfolded. New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee said that the USS Sampson was heading south to Kaikoura and would be able to deploy two helicopters to help in the evacuation. The destroyer had been due to sail into Auckland on Wednesday as part of 75th anniversary celebrations for the New Zealand navy.
The visit by the U.S. ship is significant because it ends a 30-year-old military stalemate between the countries that was triggered when New Zealand banned nuclear warships. Brownlee said Australia was also diverting the HMAS Darwin to Kaikoura. "Despite the changes to the planned celebrations, it's poignant to see the anniversary marked with such cooperation and camaraderie," Brownlee said in a statement. The operation comes as several buildings in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, were evacuated and streets cordoned off Tuesday after engineers determined that a nine-story office building was in danger of collapsing.
In this image provided by the Royal New Zealand Defense Force, tourists are evacuated by helicopter from Kaikoura following Monday's earthquake, in New Zealand, Nov. 15, 2016.
The magnitude-7.8 quake that struck New Zealand's South Island left two people dead and triggered a small tsunami. It also brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways and cracked apart roads. The defense force said it had started ferrying people out by military helicopter and that a navy ship from Auckland was due to arrive in the area Wednesday morning. Home to about 2,000 residents, Kaikoura is a popular destination for travelers taking part in whale-watching expeditions or wanting a stopover with mountain views. But the quake knocked out water supplies and sewer systems and left people with no easy way out. "From all directions, Kaikoura has essentially been isolated," Air Commodore Darryn Webb, acting commander of New Zealand's Joint Forces, told The Associated Press. "There's a real imperative to support the town because it can't support itself."
Webb said the military was using four NH90 helicopters that could each transport about 18 people at a time out of the town. He said the navy ship could pick up hundreds of people if weather conditions allowed. "We're going to get as many people and belongings out as quickly as we can," Webb said. He said the operation could take several days.
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Because as you know, they have science on their side!
Surprise: Warmists Blame New Zealand Earthquake on 'Climate Change'
I posted some impressive photos from a kiwi friend who is inspecting roads and rails.Over 300 aftershocks since Sunday...
Town evacuated amid aftershocks
Wed, Nov 16, 2016 - LUXURY PROVISIONS: A Maori community received 1,000 people and fed them crayfish, which would have gone to waste because of a lack of power to their tanks
New Zealand emergency services and defense personnel evacuated hundreds of tourists and residents from a small South Island town amid more strong aftershocks yesterday, after a powerful earthquake killed two people. The magnitude 7.8 tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday, destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from buildings in the capital, Wellington, and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of the ruggedly beautiful South Island. As aftershocks continued to rattle the region, emergency services cordoned off streets in Wellington and evacuated several buildings due to fears one of them might collapse.
Clouds of dust created by a strong aftershock on Monday hang above the Clarence River, which was blocked by landslides following an earthquake north of Kaikoura, New Zealand, on Sunday.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the vacant building appeared to have suffered structural damage when the land it was on subsided in the earthquake. A fire service official said a major structural beam had “snapped like a bone.” The town of Kaikoura, a popular base for whale-watching about 150km northeast of Christchurch, the South Island’s main city, remained cut off after massive landslides destroyed roads. Four New Zealand Defence Force helicopters flew into the town yesterday morning and two Royal New Zealand Navy vessels were heading to the area carrying supplies and to assist with the evacuation, Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand acting commander Air Commodore Darryn Webb told TVNZ. “We’re looking to do as many flights as we can out of Kaikoura today,” he said.
About 400 of the 1,200 tourists stranded in the town were flown out yesterday, including 12 people with a variety of injuries, officials said. The Red Cross, which used defense force helicopters to bring in emergency generators, satellite communications and water containers, said water in the town was running out. Mark Solomon, a leader of South Island’s indigenous Maori Ngai Tahu community, which has tourism and fisheries businesses around Kaikoura, said the local marae, a Maori meeting place, had received 1,000 people since Monday morning. Many slept overnight in the communal hall or in vehicles outside. The community fed them with crayfish, a delicacy for which the South Island town is famous. With no power, the tanks that hold the expensive crustaceans had stopped pumping. “It’s better to use the food than throw it in the rubbish, so we sent it up to the marae to feed people,” Solomon told reporters by telephone.
MORE
See also:
US Warship Diverts to Help New Zealand Quake Evacuation
Nov 15, 2016 — The first U.S. warship to visit New Zealand in more than 30 years was changing course Tuesday to help evacuate people stranded in a coastal town following a powerful earthquake.
Hundreds of tourists and residents remained stranded in the town of Kaikoura and faced a third disrupted night after a powerful quake early Monday cut off train and vehicle access. New Zealand military officials said they were on target to evacuate about 200 people by helicopter on Tuesday as a major rescue operation unfolded. New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee said that the USS Sampson was heading south to Kaikoura and would be able to deploy two helicopters to help in the evacuation. The destroyer had been due to sail into Auckland on Wednesday as part of 75th anniversary celebrations for the New Zealand navy.
The visit by the U.S. ship is significant because it ends a 30-year-old military stalemate between the countries that was triggered when New Zealand banned nuclear warships. Brownlee said Australia was also diverting the HMAS Darwin to Kaikoura. "Despite the changes to the planned celebrations, it's poignant to see the anniversary marked with such cooperation and camaraderie," Brownlee said in a statement. The operation comes as several buildings in Wellington, New Zealand's capital, were evacuated and streets cordoned off Tuesday after engineers determined that a nine-story office building was in danger of collapsing.
In this image provided by the Royal New Zealand Defense Force, tourists are evacuated by helicopter from Kaikoura following Monday's earthquake, in New Zealand, Nov. 15, 2016.
The magnitude-7.8 quake that struck New Zealand's South Island left two people dead and triggered a small tsunami. It also brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways and cracked apart roads. The defense force said it had started ferrying people out by military helicopter and that a navy ship from Auckland was due to arrive in the area Wednesday morning. Home to about 2,000 residents, Kaikoura is a popular destination for travelers taking part in whale-watching expeditions or wanting a stopover with mountain views. But the quake knocked out water supplies and sewer systems and left people with no easy way out. "From all directions, Kaikoura has essentially been isolated," Air Commodore Darryn Webb, acting commander of New Zealand's Joint Forces, told The Associated Press. "There's a real imperative to support the town because it can't support itself."
Webb said the military was using four NH90 helicopters that could each transport about 18 people at a time out of the town. He said the navy ship could pick up hundreds of people if weather conditions allowed. "We're going to get as many people and belongings out as quickly as we can," Webb said. He said the operation could take several days.
MORE
Related:
New Zealand experiences over 300 aftershocks in 13 hours after massive quake; rescue efforts hampered by heavy rains, floods, road blocks
I just listed half a dozen MSM articles that say earthquakes today are being caused by Gorebal Warming.
I'm the liar because I posted links to the Leftard Media saying climate change is causing earthquakes?
Learn to read, dufus.
I just listed 5 mainstream media outlets stating earthquakes are being caused by climate change. Each one quoting mainstream "science".
