 Another blow to Christchurch |
| “People are leaving and the traffic is just huge. It’s very messy, more cliffs are down and there’s no water or power.” |
| The Moodie Blog |
AUSTRALASIA.. Christchurch International Airport has reopened after being closed for several hours following two earthquakes that hit the southern city earlier in the day.
A magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 1pm, followed at 2.20pm by a more powerful magnitude 6 quake. Christchuch had already been hit by two devastating earthquakes in previous months, the second in February causing terrible damage and widespread loss of life.
“Our engineers have thoroughly checked both the runways and the terminal and we’re pleased to report no damage to the runways and no structural damage to the terminals,” said Christchurch Airport CEO Jim Boult.
Flights have now resumed and airlines are working to clear the backlog. Passengers booked on flights are requested to check with their airlines before coming to the airport.
“It’s a real mess here,” local resident Lauren McCallum told The Moodie Report from the seaside village of Sumner, adjacent to the small hamlet of Taylor’s Mistake where the first quake was centered. “People are leaving and the traffic is just huge. It’s very messy, more cliffs are down and there’s no water or power.”
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How local website Stuff reported the latest earthquake |
CHILEAN ASH CLOUD CAUSES AIRPORT/AIRLINE DISRUPTION
The quake was the second disruption to local airspace after Jetstar and Qantas flights were cancelled earlier in the day due to volcanic ash in the atmosphere from the eruption of the Puyehue volcano in Chile a week earlier.
Drifting ash across the pacific prompted Australian airlines to ground some domestic services and flights to New Zealand on Sunday, stranding thousands of passengers.
National carrier Qantas cancelled all flights to and from the southern island of Tasmania and all flights to and from Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington in neighbouring New Zealand.
It later extended the groundings to all flights to and from Melbourne and those to and from Auckland from 6.00pm Sunday, affecting around 8,000 passengers.
Air travel at Ezeiza and Aeroparque airports in Buenos Aires, Argentina been periodically suspended since Tuesday because of the eruption. Airports and flights in Chile, Brazil and Urguguay have also been hit.
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