Wellington 'relatively unscathed' by quakes - Mayor

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  Building on Featherston Street damaged after 6.5 magnitude quake strikes - Source: ONE News

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Thirty-five buildings in the capital city have been damaged by the recent flurry of earthquakes, Wellington's Mayor says.

Last night's magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolted central New Zealand shortly after 5pm.

Since then, more than 100 aftershocks have shaken Wellington and Marlborough, with several measuring over 4 or 5 on the Richter scale.

At a media briefing this afternoon, Celia Wade-Brown said that after an initial inspection, most of the city has come through "relatively unscathed" with only external damaged such as broken windows and cracked masonry reported.

For the latest Civil Defence updates click here.

She said that of almost 2500 buildings in the CBD, about 35 buildings have been identified as externally damaged.

About 12 buildings on Featherston Street - between Ballance St and Gray St - have been barriered-off due to concerns about falling masonry and glass.

Mesh fencing, barriers, warning signs and security guards will keep pedestrians away from the facades of the affected buildings - but it will mean traffic is down to one lane on much of the street and pedestrians will have to "zig-zag" down the street a number of times.

Three major car parking buildings in the central city have been closed by their owners while the buildings are inspected for possible structural damage. They are the James Smith's car park, the car park on the corner of Tory and Wakefield streets and the building on the corner of Victoria Street and Willeston Street.

Mayor Wade-Brown says a student volunteer army is in the process of being set up in Wellington. "While the damage here is nothing like it was in Canterbury, it is very heartening that our local students are ready to help out.

"It's run by Ben Guerin - the Facebook page is titled 'Student Volunteer Army (Wellington)' - it already has about 330 members," she said.

The commuter rail services have resumed as of about 1pm today following checks of bridges, tunnels and other rail infrastructure.

Too early to estimate insurance bill

The Insurance Council says that it will be some time before the total cost of damage from the earthquake will be tallied.

"We expect that many commercial customers are now getting structural engineers to assess any damage and that claims will likely start coming through following these assessments," said ICNZ's John Lucas.

"Accordingly, it will be days, if not weeks, before we get a clear picture of the potential cost of insured damage from the Cook Strait earthquakes."

"We're encouraging commercial customers to check what's covered under their policies and to contact their broker or insurer if they need any further information or clarification. Insurers are well set up to handle the volume of calls that may arise as a result of the event."

Extra police on patrol

There will be a heightened police presence in Wellington's CBD tonight, to prevent anyone taking advantage of earthquake affected buildings.

More than 100 aftershocks have shaken Wellington and Marlborough since a 6.5 quake jolted central New Zealand shortly after 5pm yesterday, with several measuring over 4 or 5 on the Richter scale.

Acting District Commander Superintendent Sue Schwalger said double the normal number of staff will be on duty in the city this evening and during the night.

"Anyone coming into the CBD this evening is asked to stay away from the cordoned off areas which are there for good safety reasons," she said.

Ms Schwalger said that they want people to feel reassured by the strong police presence.

"While police continue to support the response by Civil Defence and council staff, routine policing is continuing across Wellington district and we are responding to emergency calls as usual," she said.

Most services back up and running

All major buildings around Civic Square - including the Town Hall, Council administration buildings, City Gallery and the Central Library - will be open tomorrow.

All Council pools, libraries and community centres will also be opened tomorrow.

- The port will be operational tonight and trains will be back on a normal timetable tomorrow.

- The three main Chorus office buildings in Wellington and most exchange buildings have reopened.

- All of ACC's offices with the exception of the Hutt Valley in Colonial House will open tomorrow.

- Massey University Wellington Campus will re-open tomorrow.

- However, the Whitireia Polytechnic Wellington campus remain off limits while engineers complete safety inspections.

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Source: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/wellington-relatively-unscathed-quakes-mayor-5516106?ref=rss

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