New Zealand Earthquake: Up to 100,000 Landslides, Flooding, Aftershocks Rattle Country; Thousands Stranded

Pam Wright
Published: November 15,2016

As aftershocks continue to rattle New Zealand, flooding and up to 100,000 landslides are hampering rescue efforts following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck near Christchurch on Monday.
According to GeoNet, New Zealand's official source of geological hazard information, there have been somewhere between 80,000 to 100,000 landslides since the quake, with many roads closed indefinitely, CNN reports.
The coastal town of Kaikoura has been completely cut off from the rest of the country by landslides, prompting a mass evacuation that began Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, New Zealand sent military helicopters and two navy ships to rescue about 1,000 tourists and hundreds of residents who remain stranded in the town.
The earthquake, which struck just after midnight Monday, killed two and triggered a small tsunami. It also knocked out water supplies and sewer systems in Kaikoura. Landslides made roadways impassable, leaving people with no easy way out.
"From all directions, Kaikoura has essentially been isolated," Air Commodore Darryn Webb, the Acting Commander of New Zealand's Joint Forces, told the AP. "There's a real imperative to support the town because it can't support itself."
(MORE: Serious Damage After Back-to-Back Quakes in Italy)
Radio New Zealand reports that pressure is mounting as fuel and supplies in the town dwindle. Civil Defense authorities say only three days of fresh water remains.
Prime Minister John Key said the military began transporting people out Tuesday using four NH90 helicopters and two ships, the HMNZS Canterbury and HMNZS Wellington, which were sent to waters off the coast of Canterbury to assist. He added that the U.S. Navy had volunteered its help ferry people out aboard two helicopters on the U.S.S. Sampson, which was in the area.
"We're going to get as many people and belongings out as quickly as we can," Webb said.
Heavy rain on Tuesday hindered rescue crews as flooding compounded the impact of the earthquake. Luckily, Kaikoura was mostly spared the heaviest rain.
Dramatic footage emerged of a trio of cows isolated on a jut of land in a paddock that had been ripped apart during Monday's quake. The chunk of land was surrounded by deep ravines of collapsed earth, trapping the animals where they stood, according to the AP.
On Tuesday, those two cows and a calf were rescued after several people dug a track and moved them to safety, the AP also said.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred 14 miles below the surface near the South Island. 
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a tsunami was generated and measured 8.2 feet above normal tide level, according to a gauge near Kaikoura, New Zealand. A 1.4-foot tsunami was measured near Wellington.
As aftershocks continued to rock the nation, Key said during a press conference that the cleanup operation was expected to take months.
"It's just utter devastation, I just don't know ... that's months of work," Key said, adding that he believes the cleanup will run into the hundreds of millions, possibly billions of dollars.
Aerial photos captured by New Zealand’s air force show “massive rockfalls in several areas in the upper South Island," according to a Facebook update from the defense force.

The aerial photo shows the damage to a state highway near Kaikoura, New Zealand Monday, Nov. 14,2016 after a powerful earthquake. A powerful earthquake that rocked New Zealand on Monday triggered landslides and a small tsunami, cracked apart roads and homes, but largely spared the country the devastation it saw five years ago when a deadly earthquake struck the same region.
(David Alexander/SNPA via AP)

At least 20,000 were evacuated from coastal communities following the quake, says Civil Defense Controller John Mackie.
The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board told RNZ that five people were admitted to Wairau Hospital with injuries.
The quake was followed by at least 20 strong aftershocks of magnitude 4.8 or greater, said Victoria University seismologist John Townsend.
Acting Civil Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee said the quake had been felt "extensively."
"There will be a lot of people out there very unnerved by this. The sort of holding hand you can put out to anyone who is distressed would be very welcome," he said during a press conference.
The earthquake struck approximately 33 miles northeast of Amberley, and 57 miles north-northeast from Christchurch. The latter location was hit by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in February 2011, killing 185 and causing damage across the country.
Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island.
The New Zealand Herald reported the quake being felt from Wellington to Dunedin.
Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie told RNZ a rockfall had blocked the entrance to Hanmer, where damage was reported.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Wellington inner city residents reportedly left their homes for safer areas in the city, reports AP.