Christchurch quake: PM confirms 65 dead.

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Christchurch quake: PM confirms 65 dead

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 1:40p.m.

By 3news.co.nz staff

Christchurch has been rocked by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, sending the region into pandemonium again, not six months after the September 4 quake.

The quake struck at 12.51pm and was at a depth of 5km, 10km southeast of Christchurch.

There have been reports of significant damage, most notably the Christchurch Cathedral.


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6.20pm – Prime Minister John Key says 65 people have been confirmed dead, with Civil Defence reporting 40 plus casualties at Christchurch Hospital.

6.15pm – The 22nd aftershock hit Canterbury at 5.56pm. It was a magnitude 4.0 tremor, at a depth of 15km, 10km southeast of Christchurch.

6.11pm – ANZ New Zealand has donated $1 million to support long-term relief efforts in Christchurch and is taking donations from the public.

People can make donations at any ANZ or National Bank branch, or online to 01-1839-0188939-00 (ANZ) or 06-0869-0548507-00 (National Bank).

6.10pm – Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says the death toll could be between 50 and 60 people.

6.09pm – Civil Defence Minister John Hamitlon says 17 people have been confirmed dead so far.

6.00pm – Ex-Mediaworks CEO turned talkback presenter on RadioLIVE Brent Impey is fielding calls right now. People are offering Cantabrians places to stay and other assistance. Why not give him a ring on 0800 723 465.

You can leave a message on the RadioLIVE website here.

5.58pm – Prisoners were evacuated from Christchurch’s central court building following the quake. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said all of tomorrow’s court sittings in Christchurch had been cancelled and court fixtures in Timaru, Ashburton and Rangiora were also unlikely to go ahead. Several ministry buildings had been extensively damaged.

5.53pm – A 12th aftershock hit the region at 5.29pm. It was a magnitude 3.6 tremor at a depth of 11km, 10km east of Christchurch.

5.50pm – A large number of police staff are being readied to deploy from around New Zealand to Christchurch. Canterbury district commander superintendent Dave Cliff says while fatalities have been reported, their exact number is not yet known.

5.47pm – The NZ Transport Agency has closed the Lyttelton tunnel following the earthquake. Rakaia and Waimakariri Bridge on SH1 remain open.

5.40pm – Auckland City Hospital and Starship Hospital says they are ready to assist treating people injured in the quake. They have not had confirmation that there will be any need to transfer patients, but 88 ward beds are available if necessary.

5.35pm – An 11th aftershock struck at 5.19pm at a depth of 15km. It was a magnitude 4.6.

5.33pm – Progressive Enterprises says the majority of its Countdown and Foodtown supermarkets will remain closed overnight. Most of the stores have experienced damaged to stock but all staff have been accounted for and only a small number have minor injuries. Stores will not be re-opened until it is safe to do so. Online shopping services also remain suspended.

5.23pm – A 10th aftershock hit Christchurch at 4.43pm. It was a magnitude 3.7 and was at a depth of 6km.

5.20pm – Jason Reweti has contacted 3 News saying his cousin along with others are trapped in the BNZ building in the central city near the Cathedral.

5.14pm – BP has closed all of its Christchurch service stations subject to inspection of ground-based tanks and pipes.

5.11pm – St John says in the two hours following the earthquake it received 353 calls, compared to the 250 it receives for a standard 24 hour period. St John says it is now coping with managing the call level and the peak volume of calls has now subsided.

5.10pm – Telecom says 111 services are now stable and available for use. The Christchurch 111 calls centre has been successfully diverted to Wellington and 111 calls are being prioritised.

5.09pm – At least one person has been confirmed dead and more than 30 others trapped in the Pyne Gould Corp building in central Christchurch.

5.04pm – There are reports floors 10 to 17 of Clarendon Tower building in the CBD are trapped due to collapsed stairwells.

5.03pm – The Dean of Christchurch Cathedral says the partial destruction of the iconic building is unimportant in light of the great human cost the disaster will incur.

Dean Peter Beck said there were visitors inside the building when the earthquake hit and it could not be confirmed whether anyone was still trapped beneath the rubble.

“We just don’t know if there were people underneath so all we can do now is just pray and wait while the emergency services get in there. We just don’t know.”

4.53pm – Reports that the suburb of Lytellton and Brighton are ‘unliveable’.

4.48pm – Police are warning people not to jump in and try to help rescue people or dig through the rubble.

4.43pm – The Christchurch Blood Donor Centre says it will be closed until further notice. It says it has good supplies of blood in Christchurch and can bring in extra supplies from other centres.

4.42pm – Deputy Prime Minister Bill English says a security cordon will be established around central Christchurch. Two search and rescue teams are being flown into the city.

4.41pm – The Government has accepted international help for expertise for rescue operations.

4.35pm – There have now been nine aftershocks since the 12.51pm quake. The latest was a magnitude 5.0 at 4.04pm.

4.25pm – The Interislander services across the Cook Strait are operating as per normal.

4.24pm – KiwiRail says all trains have been halted between Timaru and Picton, and on the West Coast. There have been no reports of injuries to staff or passengers. About 400 passenger in transit have been affected by the quake. A seven-wagon coal train has derailed in the Christchurch suburb of Heathcote.

4.22pm – The Auckland University Students Association has launched an immediate street appeal to raise money for the people of Christchurch.

4.18pm – The quake was felt as far as Invercargill, says resident ‘Katy M’.

4.16pm – Julie Cooper, whose sister was trapped in The Press building, has contacted 3 News to say two people have been rescued after rescuers came through the roof. One of those rescued was Ms Cooper’s sister. The rest of the people are still trapped.

4.11pm – Meridian Energy’s Christchurch-based call centre has been closed today. All Meridian staff were evacuated from its offices in Manchester St and Sir William Pickering Dr.

4.08pm – Police Commissioner Howard Broad is currently on his way to Christchurch courtesy of an Air Force flight.

4.02pm – Labour leader Phil Goff tweeted shortly after the quake struck: “Paintings falling down, plaster coming off the walls, roof tiles falling down – scary stuff”.

4.01pm – Trevor Morrison has contacted 3 News saying his son contacted him saying he and 23 others are trapped on the 17th storey of the Forsyth-Barr building as the stairwell has collapsed.

3.58pm – Delegates at the United States New Zealand Partnership Forum meeting in Christchurch are understood to be safe, but that cannot be officially confirmed. A US delegation of 43 government, business and community leaders was attending the forum which began yesterday and was due to end this evening. A group of nine US congressmen had left Christchurch this morning before the quake struck and were visiting Parliament this afternoon.

3.56pm – If you have been affected by the quake, here is some information on what to do now

3.55pm – AM radio frequencies are down in Christchurch.

3.54pm – Google has set up a people finder service for those looking for loved ones in the quake.

3.51pm – A tweet from ZM Online: “Bodies are being taken out of the Youth Hostels Association building in Christchurch”.

3.50pm – The 111 phone system in Southland is overloaded. Anyone needing urgent assistance from the police must phone their local station directly. This number is in the Blue Pages at the front of the Southland phone book.

* For ambulance call 03 211 3044
* For Fire Service call 214 3779

3.43pm – Civil Defence says many roads are congested and is asking people to avoid travelling unless “absolutely necessary”.

3.40pm – Telecom has moved to enable free calling from 280 payphones in and around Christchurch for local, national and mobile calls. The free service will be live from 3am Wednesday.

3.38pm – The Fire Service is mobilising its two North Island urban search and rescue taskforces. The Service says it is responding with “all its resources”.

3.31pm – Triage centres have been established for people with injuries at Latimer Square in the Central City, Spotlight Mall in Sydenham and at Sanitarium in Papanui.

3.27pm – See a map of all the quakes and aftershocks that have hit Christchurch since September 4 here

3.25pm – Police are arresting people who are getting in the way of emergency services trying to help those trapped and injured.

3.24pm – The emergency 111 system is not working; people should call 03 211 3044.

3.23pm – Christchurch Airport has two runways operational but only for medical evacuations and medical assistance and for the Prime Minister.

3.20pm – Civil Defence has issued another update, requesting people text rather than make cellphone calls to ease the load on telecommunications services. One ward at Christchurch Hospital has been damaged, the rest is fully operational.

3.13pm – Six aftershocks have hit Christchurch this afternoon. A 3.4 hit at 2.37pm, a 4.0 hit at 2.39 and a larger 5.5 hit at 2.50pm within 5km of Lyttelton.

3.11pm – Eighty percent of Christchurch is without power.

3.08pm – Julie Cooper has emailed 3 News saying her sister and five colleagues are trapped on the third flood of The Press building in Cathedral Square. The roof has collapsed on them and they are pinned under desks that have been destroyed with the impact of the rubble. They are unable to move and cannot see each other in the office space. Her sister is able to make Cell Phone calls, is very upset but is coping. They are still awaiting rescue.

2.56pm – Auckland Hospital is on a ‘Code Red’ to receive patients.

2.55pm – There are reports 60 percent of Lyttelton has been virtually demolished.

2.50pm – One lady trapped on the roof of the Pyne Gould Guiness building has been rescued by the Fire Service. The building has been completely demolished; a witness on the street outside says she estimated there would have been 200 people inside.

2.46pm – As previously stated, the city has run out of ambulances and police cars are being used to ferry injured persons.

2.45pm – Multiple aftershocks are continuing to hit the city.

2.42pm – See raw video footage of when the quake hit here

2.41pm – Civil Defence says the National Crisis Management Centre has been activated and urban search and rescue teams have been deployed. An Australian team has been put on call.

2.40pm – There are reports the city has run out ambulances; further reports of fatalities include witnesses seeing bodies pulled from rubble on Hereford St.

2.35pm – Contrary to some reports, Christchurch Hospital has NOT been evacuated and is fully functional.

2.27pm – One person has been confirmed dead in the suburb of Sumner.

2.25pm – Telecom has released a statement saying it is working to understand which services have been affected. Some network sites have been badly damaged and are not working, others are operating on battery power and are functional. Telecom is requesting users to only make emergency calls to conserve back-up power.

2.22pm – A magnitude 4.4 aftershock struck at 1.46pm, 10km east of Lyttelton.

2.18pm – Police have called in Defence Force personnel to help evacuate the central city

2.09pm – Other reports include multiple building collapses, fires in buildings in the central city and persons reported trapped in buildings.

2.06pm – A number of fatalities have been reported at several locations in the central city, including two buses crushed by falling buildings. A doctor and emergency services are attending.

2.05pm – John Key will fly to Christchurch after a 3pm emergency cabinet meeting. The Civil Defence bunker has been activated at the Beehive.

2.04pm – Prime Minister John Key has made an address to Parliament saying there are “sketchy details” about serious damage and that fatalities cannot be ruled out.

1.57pm – A tweet from a source says “fatalities likely. Body found in Wakefield ST RSA”.

1.56pm – Residents are being urged not to drink tap water as it may be contaminated.

1.55pm – Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says he was in the council chambers when the quake struck and was thrown off his feet.

1.45pm – Witnesses calling 3 News and radio stations say there is copious amounts of liquefaction in the area.

1.30pm – Christ College has also taken a huge hit, witnesses say, the school is said to have sustained serious damage.

1.20pm – Phone lines and traffic lights are down throughout the region.

1.11pm – Christchurch resident Simon Bosma works in the central city and says skyscrapers were swaying when the quake hit.

12.59pm – Christchurch Cathedral is reported to be badly damaged; Christchurch Hospital is also said to have sustained damage and Christchurch Airport has been closed.

12.51pm – 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes at a depth of 5km, 10km southeast of Christchurch. Tweet