Christchurch aftershocks: Getting home a struggle for commuters

Residents queue for water in Opawa Rd. Photo / NZPA

Christchurch people struggling to get home to inspect earthquake damage became ensnared in traffic jams exacerbated by bridge closures and burst water mains.

Eight road bridges were closed causing major traffic diversions in central and eastern suburbs, where ground liquefaction made driving all the more hazardous.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the airport, which was closed for 3 hours until about 4.40pm while its runway surfaces were checked for possible cracks. The national control centre remained open, although non-essential staff were sent home. Flights were delayed as airlines struggled to clear a backlog.

The Transport Agency closed the Lyttelton Tunnel for inspection for 20 minutes after the first magnitude 5.5 earthquake, which struck about 1pm, and for 40 minutes after the magnitude 6 shock at 2.20pm.

Several shopping centres were closed, as was the city's central police station, and the condemned Grand Chancellor Hotel was left with even more of a lean than it suffered in the deadly February earthquake.

Many commuters returned home, particularly in eastern suburbs, to find themselves among 56,000 customers without electricity.

By last night, Orion had restored power to about 36,000 households and businesses, including much of Lyttelton, Addington and Spreydon. Areas remaining without power were largely eastern suburbs such as Bexley, New Brighton and Sumner, where damage to properties looked likely to make the restoration job trickier.

Burst water mains also left many homes without water and others with low pressure yesterday, and Christchurch City Council urged residents to limit flushing toilets.

Linwood Ave Medical Centre practice manager Irene Burke said its doctors and nurses were soldiering on with the power still on, but no reticulated water.

"We had no power or water last time [in February] and stayed open for two or three days doing what we could," she said. "The water's off now after the second shake [at 2.20pm] but we have a Port-a-loo and bottled and distilled water."

Telephone lines went down in various parts of Christchurch, although Telecom and Vodafone said their networks continued to operate well
"overall". They have urged mobile phone customers to use text messages where possible to reduce high network congestion.

Vodafone lost seven cellphone sites and had to put 27 others on back-up power, with extra generators.

The Transport Agency closed only the Anzac Bridge, on SH74 near New Brighton.

But KiwiRail suspended all train movements between Waipara in North Canterbury, Ashburton and Springfield to the west, to check tracks and structures for damage.

Chief executive Jim Quinn said initial inspections showed freight runs could resume on the main lines north and south tomorrow, but it may take days before the rail connection to the Port of Lyttelton could be approved.

The port company said its infrastructure had suffered more earthquake damage and would undergo a full engineering assessment overnight, although it hoped to resume movements this morning.

Another casualty is the tower of Lyttelton's historic Timeball Station, which collapsed in the second of yesterday's quakes. Work had already begun on dismantling the 134-year-old landmark, which had been fenced off after severe damage from the February earthquake.