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Cordons are gradually being lifted in central Gisborne after a night of mayhem caused by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale.
A state of emergency was declared after the quake, which hit about 8.55pm yesterday and was centred 50km offshore southeast of Gisborne and 40km deep.
It was followed this morning by a 4.5 aftershock.
No one was killed and only 11 people injured in the quake, which left some residents fleeing for higher ground amid tsunami fears.
The Fire Service rescued three people from an elevator, alerted after one managed to call for help on their cellphone, the Gisborne Herald reported.
They were not injured but were "very shaken".
Gisborne District Council (GDC) public information manager Vance Walker told NZPA an apartment building and two shops had partially collapsed, roofs caved in, water tanks and winery vats burst and gaping holes opened up in roadways.
The central business district (CBD) was closed from Childers Road to Palmerston Road and from Customhouse Street to Cobden Street. However, by 9am about half the area had been cleared to reopen.
"GDC building inspection teams are already on the job assessing outside buildings in the inner-city, about a dozen blocks of which have been cordoned off," Mr Walker said.
Civil Defence controller Jon Davies said council staff needed to assess the safety of the buildings before the public was allowed into the area, and that was the priority. Some would be permanently closed while others might be partially closed.
"We're asking the public to stay away from the area until at least midday."
People who evacuated themselves should tell Civil Defence of their whereabouts and could call the council.
The city was hit by widespread blackouts following the quake but power had been restored to 90 per cent of customers early this morning.
Mr Walker urged retailers and the public anxious to get into the CBD on the last Friday before Christmas to be patient and remember the damage could have been much worse.
"... we think we're fairly lucky.
"We don't know the extent of household damage (such as) crockery falling off shelves. We probably won't know that until later on this morning," he said.
"So we were lucky but we don't know the full picture in terms of damage to the retail sector but our building inspectors are moving quite fast."
Tairawhiti District Health Board chief executive Jim Green told NZPA the hospital roof water tanks overflowed, causing flooding, and lighting was lost for about 30 minutes.
"I happened to be in the hospital myself at the time and it was a very frightening experience, because of the magnitude of the quake and the fact that you're in a multi-story building, so it did shake a lot," he said.
"Immediately nurses did a really good job in helping to calm patients and check that nobody had been injured, which was the case."
Seventy-eight patients were in the hospital when the quake hit. Most stayed in their wards, and those who were evacuated were back in their beds by midnight.
Staff were this morning facing an extensive clean-up, with equipment off shelves, ceiling tiles down and sodden carpets. The building would be assessed to ensure its extensive earthquake-proofing had held up.
Mr Green urged the public to go to their local doctor unless they were critically ill or injured.
Heart of Gisborne city manager Kerry Donovan said about 400 retailers were affected by the CBD closure, and she urged them to be patient.
"The district council's building inspectors and engineers are going through the city centre as we speak," she told NZPA.
"So their priority is getting the city centre open as early as they can but also as safely as they can."
The CBD featured a lot of historic Edwardian buildings, and loose masonry posed a danger, Ms Donovan said.
"Our aim is the have the city centre open and functioning by midday which, in a state of civil emergency, is not too bad," she said.
Ms Donovan appealed for support once the shops did reopen, saying retailers would need patience - and spending.
"If ever we needed a time for people to come in and do their shopping it's now," she said.
"Please come in and shop and spend up large but be patient."
The Gisborne Herald said residents of Lytton West were being asked not to flush their toilets, bathe or shower after a mains waterpipe broke near the Nelson Bridge.
Gisborne resident Catherine Watson told the New Zealand Herald her house shook "and we were all swaying" during the quake.
"We stood in the door frames. Smashed glass everywhere, frames, ornaments smashed and on the floor, wine everywhere," she said.
"Food has fallen off all the shelves in the pantry. Water pipes have burst so (there is) flooding all through the house.
"It's terrifying."
- NZPA
