18:00
6 p.m. news bulletin presented by Hewitt Humphrey: Efforts to free trapped people continue; homes, roads, infrastructure damage; fatalities; collapsed buildings with particular mention of the Pyne Gould Corporation building and crushed buses; the emergency response; New Zealand Fire Service under resourced; emergency services coming from throughout the country and Australia; temporary medical facilities; State of Emergency declared for at least five days; declared a level three disaster, the highest given to a local disaster; update on infrastructure including the Christchurch Airport and Lyttelton tunnel; audio from the Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, the Canterbury Regional Civil Defence operations manager James Thompson, Christchurch resident Jan Culhane, Kaiapoi resident Ross Marwick, Somerfield School principal Denise Torrie; emergency accommodation for displaced people; advice for people in Christchurch; the condition of state highways; New Zealand Blood Service says it has sufficient supplies of blood; outlying areas in Canterbury escape relatively unscathed.
RNZ reporter Kate Gudsell talks to presenter Mary Wilson: she is at the Civil Defence Headquarters in Wellington: Director of Civil Defence John Hamilton confirms 17 deaths, expecting that number to climb, two search and rescue teams being dispatched from Auckland and another one coming from Australia.
RNZ reporter Jessica Maddock talks to presenter Susie Ferguson: she has been at a briefing by the Christchurch mayor Bob Parker: he does not have confirmed numbers of fatalities, says he has a “feeling” based on information he has been given by various sources that it will about 50 to 60 people and that 150 to 200 people are trapped. The casualties are believed to be within the city centre, not in the suburbs. Two emergency accommodation centres have been set up at Burnside High School and at Addington Raceway. There is no emergency accommodation in Hagley Park as previously planned because it is within the cordon. Christchurch Hospital is functioning and provincial hospitals are being prepared to take some of the patients. People with less urgent injuries should go to the triage centres at the Sanitarium Building on Langdons Road, Princess Margaret Hospital, Moorhouse Avenue Medical Centre and the Sumner Medical Centre. Gives Civil Defence advice to people in Christchurch.
Red Cross national programmes manager, David Neill, talks to presenter Mary Wilson: the Christchurch Red Cross response team is helping the New Zealand Fire Service’s Urban Search and Rescue teams search buildings where people are trapped and setting up a welfare centre at Hagley Park. Red Cross bringing 40 volunteers in from Blenheim, Nelson, West Coast, Dunedin and Invercargill. Some are trained to operate in general rescue environments, others will assist with the welfare centres.
Victoria University seismologist John Townend talks to presenter Mary Wilson: scale of damage is worse than the September earthquake for three reasons – although smaller in magnitude, today’s aftershock was closer to the city; buildings were already weakened by the September earthquake and the aftershocks that have occurred since; and it happened at lunchtime when many people were on the city centre’s streets. Aftershocks tend to diminish in numbers but not necessarily in magnitude.
Telecom’s Mark Watts talks to presenter Susie Ferguson: landline and mobile networks largely intact. Key problem is lack of mains power in Christchurch which is affecting ability to keep systems up and running. Asks mobile customers to only make a phone call if necessary, not to send photographs via their mobiles and to conserve their cellphone’s battery due to the power cut. Moving generators to Christchurch, getting portable cellphone sites to where emergency services need them and, from the early hours of tomorrow morning, payphone calls from Canterbury will be free of charge. Cannot happen until tomorrow morning due to the software. Recommends people dust off their old analogue landline phones which do not rely on electricity. Overnight the situation with the cellphones is likely to worsen as some cellsites damaged and others working off batteries which will run out.
News update with Hewitt Humphrey: the death toll is now 65 people; Civil Defence says number likely to climb; number of people trapped in collapsed buildings is unknown; state of emergency declared for at least five days; homes, buildings, roads, core infrastructure damaged; emergency services workers from throughout the country are en route to Christchurch to help; about 200 extra police are travelling to the city; 400 army personnel will join the 1200 already there; 70 army medics are in Christchurch based at the central police station; extra firefighters and search and rescue teams are also heading to the city; international offers of search and rescue assistance have been accepted; 70 percent of the city is without power and 50 percent is expected to remain that way overnight; three wards of Christchurch Hospital have been evacuated, the emergency department is operating to a limited capacity, a makeshift hospital has been set up in Latimer Square along with three triage centres; a centre for displaced people has been set up in Hagley Park.
The Prime Minister John Key talks to presenter Mary Wilson: he is seeing scenes of devastation; paid a very heavy price given the time of day the aftershock occurred; 65 people have died and that could rise; focus is mounting the maximum search and rescue possible; additional police and soldiers are coming to Christchurch; international offers of help have been accepted; does not have accurate information on the number of people of trapped; communications extremely poor; he is looking at a building that has collapsed and is on fire; people are shell-shocked, terrifying situation; check on your loved ones and neighbours; systems are trying to be set up to help people with missing persons inquiries; rescue teams will work through the night; extra people coming for back-up so fatigue does not set in; no stone will be left unturned in trying to put resources into Christchurch; Christchurch will get everything that is physically and humanly possible.
Rob Clark, who was stuck in the gridlock of people trying to flee the city centre, talks to presenter Mary Wilson: he was on the sixth floor of his office building; is shaken; against his better judgement, he advised people not to go down the stairs; they made it down alright, so he followed on his own, it was the scariest six flights of stairs he has ever walked down; petrified of another aftershock; while he was still in the building, he was holding on to a filing cabinet so it did not fall on him and crouching beside a pillar when he saw the spire of the Christchurch Cathedral fall down; I knew it was bad as soon as it hit, it was incredible; knew people would be killed; knew people would not be able to get out of the way of the falling spire; it “absolutely chilled me”; afterwards masses of people were on streets trying to contact loved ones; those with cars were trying to leave, roads became gridlocked; he waited two hours for traffic to die down; took him 1.5 hours to get from Cashel Street to his home in Cashmere which would normally take 10 to 15 minutes; on the way home saw collapsed buildings, blocked streets, building frontages fallen on to the road, major cracks in the roads, major liquefaction; people inched around it and through it; totally shocked; at home everything is on the floor, broken glass, pottery, food, cannot tell how damaged the house is; my heart goes out to everyone who has suffered more than we have.
18:30
Presenter Susie Ferguson says the head of the Christchurch Cathedral thinks people visiting the church may have been killed there. The Dean of Christchurch Peter Beck says they rushed to get as many people out as possible. Pre-recorded interview with Peter Beck is played: he says the tower has collapsed and some of the masonry walls. He does not know if people are buried in the rubble, they just have to wait for emergency services to do what they can. No idea how many people were in there. Very fearful people have died there. Major cracks in many of the walls. Focus now is to help the people of Christchurch. The injured and traumatised people. There was no warning of the aftershock at all. Very dark day but people are rallying around with immense determination. People need to talk and hug. Christchurch was starting to recover, now have to start that process again.
News update with Hewitt Humphrey: death toll is 65 and expected to climb; number of people trapped in collapsed buildings is unknown; state of emergency declared for at least five days; homes, buildings, roads, core infrastructure damaged; emergency services workers from throughout the country are en route to Christchurch to help; about 200 extra police are travelling to the city; 400 army personnel will join the 1200 already there; 70 army medics are in Christchurch based at the central police station; extra firefighters and search and rescue teams are also heading to the city; international offers of search and rescue assistance have been accepted; 70 percent of the city is without power and 50 percent is expected to remain that way overnight; three wards of Christchurch Hospital have been evacuated, the emergency department is operating to a limited capacity, a makeshift hospital has been set up in Latimer Square along with three triage centres; a centre for displaced people has been set up in Hagley Park.
Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates talking to Mary Wilson: he says Christchurch Hospital is coping remarkably well; a lot of patients have presented at the emergency department; a lot of major injuries, crush and cut injuries, chest pain; outpatients and Christchurch Women’s Hospital are dealing with the walking wounded while the emergency department deals with the serious injuries; the intensive care unit is full and they are considering shifting some patients to intensive care units in other hospitals; not known how many people are seriously injured; major power supply issues, using emergency generators; planning to transfer about 50 patients to other Christchurch hospitals – Southern Cross, Burwood and Princess Margaret – to try to prevent the power supply going down again; aftershocks rattling staff and patients and meaning equipment has to be recalibrated; staff from other district health boards arriving tonight and tomorrow; staff are under significant pressure, compounded by the aftershocks since the September earthquake; staff have injured family members and damaged homes; issues with sewerage and water supply too, water is being pumped out of the basement of Christchurch Hospital; infrastructure damaged, hospital has structural damage too.
A recorded report by RNZ reporter Chris Bramwell: Parliament was adjourned when the earthquake happened. Party leaders addressed the House as the seriousness of the situation became clear. The Prime Minister, National’s John Key, said it is worrying the aftershock happened at a time people were on the city centre streets and children were in schools. The Labour Party deputy leader Annette King said Canterbury people had suffered enough and were just getting their lives back together. She said the House would stand together in helping the people of Christchurch. The Progressive Party leader and Member of Parliament for the Christchurch electorate of Wigram, Jim Anderton, said the people of Christchurch needed the country’s support now more than ever. He was talking to his electorate secretary in Christchurch from Wellington when the aftershock happened and said there was real terror in her voice. Like other Christchurch-based MPs, he was going to try and get home as soon as possible. He had been unable to contact anyone else at his office, or his wife who had been in the central city. The Green Member of Parliament, Kennedy Graham, who is from Christchurch, says the city would dig deep, summon all resolve and show the country and the world the Cantabrian spirit.
RNZ reporter Rachel Graham talks to presenter Susie Ferguson: she is at Latimer Square where a triage centre has been set up; has not seem many people coming through; most of the activity is at the CTV building on the corner of Cashel and Madras streets; the building was five or six stories and is now basically rubble; large amount of machinery trying to clear it away; large number of fire-fighters; many ambulances there too but they are largely waiting; family members are turning up seeking information about people they have not been able to contact; a short time ago one of the families began running toward the rubble and then suddenly a young man, a member of their family, appeared; he had been on the fourth floor and had been texting them; had been in there four hours; he only has a few scratches on his head; gives people hope; still a lot of smoke coming out of the building; Urban Search and Rescue are getting further into the rubble.
An interview with Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission chairperson Murray Sherwin talking to presenter Susie Ferguson is replayed: he says it is a devastating day that changes the recovery process enormously, first priority is people’s safety, leaders felt recovery after the September earthquake was progressing well but the task is more massive now, formal temporary occasion will now be needed.
Barry Saunders is from Wellington but is visiting friends in Lyttelton. His interview with presenter Susie Ferguson is replayed: about the strength of the aftershock, buildings collapses, Lyttelton looks like it has been bombed, people now on the streets, dangerous buildings have been cordoned off by the army, has not seen injuries in Lyttelton, aftershocks horrendous, people want to be out in the open, do not want to be in houses.
Victoria University seismologist John Townend talks to presenter Mary Wilson: says the area has not settled down since the September earthquake but the aftershocks had been diminishing in regularity. Today’s large aftershock is a continuation of this but will create an aftershock sequence of its own, which the people of Christchurch should prepare themselves for in coming days and weeks.