New Zealand evacuates quake-hit Kaikoura

New Zealand a rescue operation involving hundreds of tourists and residents who remain stranded in the coastal town of Kaikoura after a powerful earthquake cut off train and vehicle access

15 November 2016, 8:15am

1 min read

A Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter arrives in Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand to evacuate those stranded following the recent earthquakes PHOTO: Reuters

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New Zealand emergency services and defence personnel evacuated hundreds of tourists and residents from a small South Island town amid more strong aftershocks on Tuesday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed two people.

The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday, destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from buildings in the capital, Wellington, and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of the South Island, according to Reuters news agency.

As aftershocks continued to rattle the region, emergency services cordoned off streets in Wellington and evacuated several buildings due to fears one of them might collapse.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said the vacant building appeared to have suffered structural damage when the land it was on subsided in the quake. A fire service official reportedly said a major structural beam had "snapped like a bone".

The town of Kaikoura, about 150 km northeast of Christchurch, the South Island's main city, remained cut off by massive landslips.