WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand on Tuesday began a rescue operation of about 1,000 tourists and hundreds of residents who remain stranded in the coastal town of Kaikoura after a powerful earthquake cut off train and vehicle access.
The defense force said it had started to ferry people out by military helicopter. A navy ship that left from Auckland is due to arrive on Wednesday morning.
The magnitude-7.8 quake struck the South Island early Monday. It left two people dead and triggered a small tsunami. It also brought down rocks and mud that swept across highways and cracked apart roads.
Home to about 2,000 residents, Kaikoura is a popular destination for travelers taking part in whale-watching expeditions or wanting a stopover with mountain views. But the quake knocked out water supplies and sewerage systems and left people with no 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 Associated Press. “There’s a real imperative to support the town because it can’t support itself.”
Webb said the military was using four NH90 helicopters that could each transport about 18 people at a time out of the town. He said the ship could potentially pick up hundreds of people if weather allowed.
“We’re going to get as many people and belongings out as quickly as we can,” Webb said.
He said the operation could take several days and that if needed, a C-130 military transport plane could drop fuel, water, food and other supplies to the town.
Elsewhere, many people returned to work in the capital, Wellington, after the quake shut down much of the central city on Monday. But some buildings remained closed and heavy rain and flooding compounded the difficulties for others.
Strong aftershocks continued to shake New Zealand, rattling the nerves of residents. The country was largely spared the devastation it saw in 2011 when an earthquake struck the city of Christchurch and killed 185 people. That quake was one of New Zealand’s worst disasters, causing an estimated $25 billion in damage.
Monday’s quake caused damage in Wellington and was also strongly felt in Christchurch. Residents said the shaking went on for about three minutes.
Police said one person died in Kaikoura and another in Mt. Lyford, a nearby ski resort. Several other people suffered minor injuries in Kaikoura, police spokeswoman Rachel Purdom said.
Prime Minister John Key flew over the destruction in Kaikoura by helicopter as aftershocks kicked up dust from the landslides below. Cars could be seen lying on their sides and parts of the road were clearly impassable.
“It’s just utter devastation,” Key said.
He later toured the area and met with locals. He estimated the cleanup effort would run into the billions of dollars and said clearing the debris and blocked roads could take months.
