Thousands will have to abandon homes - Key

Thousands of Christchurch residents will have to abandon their quake-destroyed homes but Prime Minister John Key is refusing to say which areas are affected or when this will happen.

Mr Key flew down to Christchurch this afternoon to meet Mayor Bob Parker, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority boss Roger Sutton to assess the situation in the devastated city.

The Government had a "reasonably clear picture" about the areas of land that would not be rebuilt on, but it "extremely important to get it right", Mr Key told reporters.

"Although the footprint of damage is very similar to the February earthquake, there has been further damage to land in some areas...and further subsidence.”

Mr Key said he understood homeowners’ frustration and wanted to be able to "communicate with homeowners to give clarity -- it is not only the land but what happens next".

He asked that owners be patient as officials worked to provide clarity and simplicity to the financial payments, as there were a large numbers of individual insurance contracts to take into account.

He said they did not want to rush the process and jeopardise a proper outcome.

New Zealand was fortunate to have high levels of insurance and re-insurance, giving "a high level of security for homeowners".

Mr Key said although yesterday’s quake had a "big impact on morale and there was some economic impact", for the most part it happened where there was already damage, so the business community was largely unaffected.

Mr Brownlee said at least 75 buildings in the CBD that survived the February quake now needed to be demolished urgently after yesterday’s 6.3 magnitude quake.

Mr Sutton said this would have to be done as quickly as possible to allow access to the CBD. He said the devastation in the central city was "sobering" with both the Christchurch Cathedral and the Catholic Basilica suffering more extensive damage.

Mr Key suggested the Gvernment would not fund any legal action that might be sought in the wake of the February building collapses. There was a process in place where the Department of Building and Housing would make recommendations to the police for any legal accountability. Police would then decide whether there are grounds for criminal charges.

There is no local or national state of emergency in place following yesterday’s large shakes. Mr Key said he was comfortable with that and that the establishment of Cera was working well.