New landslide damn
150 metres high



That's gotta be a real concern for people , communities and infrastructure down stream.

Also indicates just how rugged and difficult the country is round that area.
up to about 3,000 metres
10,000feet

Just seen a report.
It's chopper mayhem down there.
Hope they've issued everyone ear muffs.

 

Why aren't the insurance claims from the previous big quake getting processed then? It's been how long?

 

Ship to shore airlift went well all day.

The army supply convoy got through finally , but highway 70 goat track won't be open to civilian traffic for quite a bit longer than thought yesterday ,
so more chose to leave rental cars and camper vans.
160 more evacuated out.

Slip damns are a real worry , especially this one

That rockfall damn is 150 metres high ,
so if the water doesn't find a way to wash through ,
its going to either be a nice new lake ,
or ,
one hell of a flash flood.

Some down stream are asking it be blown up.
But look at the country , it was one of natures explosions that caused it.
not sure any blowing up big enough to do anything useful will help.
probly just bring down more rock.

While they were filming there was another shake , and you could clearly hear on TV , another new slip coming down nearby
The crew were visibly shaken.

Meanwhile back in Wellington , two more commercial buildings are for demolition ,
more cleared and cordonded off.

Thousands locked out of work and or homes.
unable to get work gear , tools , possessions or vehicles etc.
Several in iniment danger if collapse,
hence surrounding block closed n cordoned off.
(currently 8 areas of the city)

 

Yup I've decided that the time has come to install a new, highly advanced warning system.
You know, to keep the family safe n all.


​

 

Terraforming.

In all seriousness why stay in areas that are prone to continual earthquakes? Has the price of real estate dropped?

 

One year on today.

The road south has been open for quite some time.
The rail line through , north and south , been open for a little while ,
and the road north should open soon ,
11 December I think.

So things have improved dramatically , but still a few years of work ahead.

At least once the north end of the road is open , and through traffic rolling again ,
their economic survival will be more assured.

 

Of course as there always will be , still ongoing shakes in the region.
4.8 a day ago ,
4.2 , 3 days ago ,
5.6 , right on Kaikura itself , 3 weeks ago.
and dozens more in the moderate to strong over the year

Yep ,
we're still "the shakey isles"

 

a brief summary ,
in case anyone interested.

Near 200 km of main trunk road and rail was destroyed , buried , broken , pushed into the ocean , collapsed tunnels etc.

over 2.4 million tons of rock and debris removed.

30 helicopter pilots on call all year for sluicing
(washing down rockfalls till it is safe for machinery to get up to , then after they remove what they can , wash it down further until it's safe to work more)

100's of trucks (more than 250 at the moment) working 24/7 when safe , along with men n machinery.

Since the rail reopened , a couple of months ago , it runs 24/7 ,
all night moving freight through ,
all day moving reconstruction supplies , concrete blocks for sea walls and retaining walls , and so on.

While the last of the road will be opened in a few weeks , there are still months of work to do , finishing remedial work , protective seawalls and so on.

(there are plenty of pics in the preceding 3 pages to illustrate the scale of destruction)