Curfew in Christchurch after devastating quake
ABC News.
Streets in the city are blocked by rubble and the weather bureau is forecasting gale force winds (AAP Image/NZPA: David Alexander)
New Zealand authorities have declared an overnight curfew in Christchurch after a major earthquake hit the country's second biggest city, bringing down power lines and bridges and wrecking roads and building facades.
A state of emergency has been declared and police say the curfew is intended to protect people from falling debris.
One resident in Darfield at the epicentre of the earthquake said it sounded like a jet going over and that the aftershocks have been almost as strong as the quake itself.
The 7.0-magnitude quake caused extensive damage to buildings and homes; sewerage is leaking into the streets in the worst affected areas of Christchurch and there are fears of water contamination.
In many parts of the city and surrounding rural areas roads have buckled, some have fallen away altogether and bridges are down.
The airport has been reopened and extra police and the army are being flown into Christchurch to help with the recovery effort.
Electricity has been restored to most of the South Island city and about 80 per cent of rural areas. But the task of repairing and rebuilding damaged homes, roads, bridges and rail lines is huge.
Streets in the city are blocked by rubble and the weather bureau is forecasting gale force winds on Sunday afternoon, raising concerns about further damage to already fragile buildings.
Residents are also being told to conserve water.
Prime minister John Key earlier said it had been a bad day for the country's South Island, after a fatal plane crash also killed nine people, including one Australian, on another part of the island on the same day.
A number of people have been injured in the quake, two seriously, but Mr Key says it is extremely fortunate that so far no-one has been killed.
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