Wellington open for business tomorrow, 20% chance of a ‘big one’ this week
Up to employers to determine whether their staff should come in, mayor says.
New Zealand's capital city will be open for business tomorrow after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Cook Strait, while scientists say there is a one-in-five chance of a similar-size temblor this week.
Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown told a media briefing today it will be up to employers to determine whether their staff should come in.
Portions of the city were closed and train services suspended after a swarm of quakes off the coast near Seddon in the upper South Island that topped out with a magnitude 6.5 shake at 5.09pm on Sunday.
It was bigger than the devastating magnitude 6.3 quake that damaged Christchurch in February 2011.
About 35 buildings in the capital city have sustained damage, most of which was minor, though several carparking buildings are still closed until further notice, she says.
Wellington City Council does not "have any estimate at the moment" of the economic impact of today's closure and the earthquake damage.
GNS Science head of department GeoNet and Geohazards Monitoring Ken Gladhill says the chance of another 6-plus magnitude quake in the next 24 hours had dropped to 7 percent, and was a one-in-five chance over the next week.
The aftershock sequences were "following a pretty normal trend downwards".
Greater Wellington chairwoman Fran Wilde says normal train services will resume tomorrow and Centreport operations will be ready to clear a vessel later today.
Ms Wade-Brown says of the 5482 pre-1976 buildings checked by Wellington City Council since the first of the Canterbury earthquakes, 611 were below the minimum threshold, meaning owners will have to demolish of strengthen the buildings, and 877 were still to be checked.
(BusinessDesk)
Paul McBeth
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
Wed, 11 Jul 2018
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Wellington open for business tomorrow, 20% chance of a ‘big one’ this week
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