| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand authorities delayed plans to lift no-go zones in quake-hit Christchurch Friday after major aftershocks again rattled the country's second largest city.
Christchurch mayor Bob Parker had hoped to open the city centre for the first time since last weekend's 7.0-magnitude earthquake but said fresh tremors early Friday measuring up to magnitude 4.5 temporarily scuppered the plan.
"We're erring on the side of caution," Parker told Radio New Zealand. "We've lost nobody in this event and the controllers and everybody else working here want it to stay that way."
Parker said the cordons, which are being enforced by police and the military, would be scaled back over the next few days, aftershocks permitting.
"We've got to send a message that the majority of the city is open for business and people are in some ways getting back to their lives," he said.
The city of 340,000 will remain under a state of emergency until Wednesday following the main tremor on Saturday, which caused damage estimated at four billion dollars (2.7 billion US).
Civil defence director John Hamilton said 300 people made homeless by the tremor remained in welfare centres and the recovery would be a long, complex process.
"Authorities are focusing on restoring loss of sewerage services, addressing housing needs, provision of psychological services, ensuring negative business impacts are (minimised) and setting up recovery structures."
-AFP/wk
|
