Stranded tourists are drinking and partying through the night, causing grief for locals dealing with the aftermath of the quake that killed two people and devastated parts of the South Island with huge landslips, an MP claims.
New Zealand First deputy leader Ron Mark says some people initially stranded in the tourist town were now taking advantage of the generosity of locals, receiving free food and hand-outs and partying into the small hours.
About 1000 tourists trapped by Monday's 7.8 earthquake have been flown or shipped out of the region in a major mass evacuation this week.
But Mr Mark said some had more than outstayed their welcome and were causing problems.
``During a visit by New Zealand First to Kaikoura this morning, we were advised there is some frustration with non-locals and non-emergency helpers who have decided to prolong their stay in the town and are accepting the tremendous generosity of locals.
``Some of these people have been spending their nights drinking and partying.''
He said locals were frustrated and wanted those who weren't part of the community or the rescue effort to leave town.
Mr Mark said the Government needed to step in and instruct police to request those who were ``malingering'' in Kaikoura to continue their travels before they started over-staying their welcome.
``Kiwis are known as being generous and hospitable - but it only goes so far. These people who are prolonging their stay and receiving free food and hand-outs should be advised to move on.''
Fresh slip fears
A major evacuation was under way in Kaikoura this morning after a fresh landslip threat to homes.
Red Cross and Urban Search And Rescue staff went house-to-house on Scarborough and Torquay Sts to tell people they need to get out of their homes.
Canterbury Emergency Management said a risk assessment following the recent earthquakes had identified a potential landslip and homes were being evacuated as a precaution.
Rain and strong winds battered central New Zealand on Thursday, threatening further damage just days after the powerful earthquake.
Further helicopter evacuations from Kaikoura on Thursday were disrupted due to the bad weather, said Sarah Stuart-Black, director of the Ministry of Civil Defence Emergency Management.
"We are really concerned about the changing weather situation," she told reporters. "It could mean that there's an increased risk of further landslides, obviously surface flooding, so we want people to be safe."
An inland road to Kaikoura, briefly reopened to emergency vehicles, was closed due to more landslips, officials said.
Warships arrive
Warships from Australia, Canada and the United States have arrived in Kaikoura to help with disaster relief efforts.
They have about 660 sailors and four helicopters with them, and will be supporting the New Zealand Defence Force's efforts in the region.
Major-general Tim Gall said the ships will help in the clean-up, movement of vital aid supplies and in conducting welfare checks.
``The ships, crews and maritime helicopters provided by our partner militaries have given us a great deal of flexibility in supporting the national relief effort,'' said Maj-gen Gall, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand.
``They could assist in the clean-up, movement of vital aid supplies and in conducting welfare checks in communities affected by Monday's earthquake.''
Most of the tourists evacuated to Christchurch had continued their journeys, but around 130 people were being housed temporarily in Canterbury University's student halls.
With damage expected to take months to repair, the Government announced a NZ$7.5 million wage subsidy package to support small businesses in Kaikoura for two months.
"These companies . . . are going to have a sustained reduction in their turnover to the point of almost nothing for a long period of time and that's why we think it's appropriate for the government to step in," Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce told reporters.
Analysts at ANZ Bank said that, while the local economic hit would be significant, there would only be a "small dent" in New Zealand's overall activity, far lower than the 2011 quake in Christchurch that killed almost 200 people.
Structural damage
In Wellington, as many as 60 buildings were damaged, including serious structural damage to three relatively recently constructed multi-storey buildings, one of which engineers said would have to be torn down.
The government said it would launch an investigation into why the newer buildings had been unable to withstand the quake.
More buildings were evacuated and roads cordoned off on Thursday as engineers assessed the damage.
Wellington is bisected by several fault lines, and large areas of its business district are built on reclaimed land, raising questions about building practices in the capital despite some of the world's strictest codes.
"It is a concern, people do want to know the buildings they're in are going to be safe," Wellington Mayor Justin Lester told reporters. "Everybody wants a building to perform as is expected, so when it doesn't ... you need to understand how. There's no simple answer."
Wildlife affected
The force of the tremor was most evident in the upper South Island, where parts of the coast moved metres. A team of volunteers rescued thousands of paua that had been thrown up from the sea bed and left high and dry.
A popular New Zealand fur seal colony near Kaikoura, where pups could often be seeing playing in a waterfall in a nearby stream, was destroyed by a landslide, Department of Conversation officials said.
Civil Defence evacuated some residents near several rivers in the region where landslips from the earthquakes had blocked the rivers and risked dangerous collapses.
Aftershocks continue
Seismologists are still recording hundreds of aftershocks - some 2000 have rattled the region since the initial tremor.
Government body Geonet Science estimated an almost one-in-three chance of another 7-7.8 magnitude quake hitting the wider region within the next 30 days.
"We stress to Wellington that we need to be prepared," Wellington Mayor Justin Lester said.
