Earthquake: Two dead in 7.5-magnitude quake
Monday, 14 November 2016
Two people have died following a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake, Prime Minister John Key has confirmed.
One person died when a Kaikoura homestead collapsed, while a woman died at a property in Mt Lyford, southwest of Kaikoura.
'On the best information we have, there's been two fatalities,' Key said in his first address to media since the earthquake.
'At this point, we're unable to give you precise information on what caused those fatalities … We think it's only likely to be two - there are isolated parts of the country that we don't have perfect eyes on so we can't be 100 per cent sure.'
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Kaikoura on the East Coast was the worst affected, and an NH90 helicopter would be heading there 'very rapidly' to assess the situation.
Key said military helicopters were available, and once it was practical to do so, both he and Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee would head to the worst affected areas.
A national emergency hadn't been called at this stage because the country's 16 regional Civil Defence branches were all activated and able to 'carry out their functions'.
The quake was widely felt in both the South and North Islands, as far north as Auckland, causing damage and knocking out power, as well as triggering tsunamis.
The Kaikoura fatality occurred at the historic Elm Homestead. One person escaped the building, but another was killed when it collapsed.
The Christchurch fire service was sending a special task force to the homestead to assist with the search and recovery.
A seven-person Urban Search and Rescue (Usar) squad was en route to Kaikoura from Christchurch by helicopter.
Assessment teams were travelling to Waiau and Blenheim.
Key was due to fly out to Argentina on Tuesday en route to Apec in Peru. A decision hadn't yet been made about whether he will cancel his plans, but it looked likely the Argentina leg of the trip would be cancelled.
Key said he was in bed at Premier House in Wellington with his wife, Bronagh, when the quake struck.
'It went on for so long - we eventually did start moving at a point.
'It was a very significant shock. It started … a little more slowly … but then it started building in its intensity. You'll appreciate Premier House was built a long time ago, so it's a structure that rattles around.
'There's some glasses broken and the room started moving around a lot,' he said.
'I know from the Christchurch earthquakes how much it undermines people's confidence.'
He expected there to be a lot of damage with the country's core infrastructure and roads, which would come at a cost to the government, but one which it could afford.
Key thanked emergency services around the country for their efforts overnight.
A spokesman for the fire service said more information would be released through Twitter later in the morning.