Main highway still closed due to quake damage

A stretch of the South Island's main highway is due to open at lunchtime today after it was closed by earthquake damage yesterday.

The NZ Transport Agency says crews have been working to repair long cracks in the surface of State Highway One between Seddon and south of Ward.

Marlborough Roads Manager Frank Porter said the earthquake opened up several large longitudinal cracks in the road and contractors are working to get these filled as soon as possible.

"If we do the job in one fell swoop then that reduces the overall disruption to motorists, and the troops are working as fast as they can to restore access for everyone," he said.

"We know this is frustrating for the motorists and truckies who rely on this lifeline, and we hope to provide some welcome relief very soon."

Mr Porter said once the road is reopened there is likely to be further roadworks to patch up the highway, and delays are likely throughout the day.

Two bridges in Blenheim were also closed due to extensive damage.

Needle Creek Bridge and Flaxbourne Bridge, which are about 5 kilometres apart on SH1, are closed.

The 6.6 quake which hit near Seddon at 2.31pm yesterday and was at a depth of 8km was followed by several strong aftershocks which continued throughout the night.

The largest shake of the night came just before 3am, registering magnitude 4.7.

Aerial footage captures Seddon damage

There have been several other shocks greater than magnitude 4 and dozens of tremors between magnitude 3 and 4.

All of them have been centred to the south and the east of Seddon, with depths ranging between five and 20 kilometres.

More extensive quake

ONE News reporter in Seddon Lorelei Mason said it feels like 'déjà vu' for Seddon locals, however this time around the quake was a lot more strongly felt.

Mason said the local supermarket in Seddon was a mess with bottles strewn and spilt, produce in ruins and the lights hanging precariously."It hit with force a little bit different from what we got last time, more extensive," said local business owner Marie Floweday.

"It's a big mess and it's going to be a big clean up, it's much more bigger than last time," the supermarket's owner Kevin Kamat told ONE News.

The emergency welfare centre set up in Seddon is still operating this morning, following the night of relentless aftershocks.

Around 20 people spent the night at the centre at Seddon School, because of damage to their homes.

"The community spirit is pretty high here and people in numbers is what they like, it reassures them," says Chris Halves of Civil Defence Blenheim.

Police and building inspectors are checking out properties, and the district's mayor, Alistair Sowman, will visit Seddon today.

Victim Support is also basing one of its staff at the welfare centre for the day.

Lift shaft to be demolished

Civil Defence, police and fire have reported a quiet night in Wellington overnight, with the Wellington CBD open for business this weekend although people are advised to pay attention to any cordons.

The nine story lift shaft attached to the James Smith car-parking building is to be demolished immediately after suffering damage.

Engineers are on site and a large crane has arrived. Demolition is expected to take several days.

Residents from nearby buildings have been evacuated and Civil Defence welfare has found temporary accommodation for about 30 people.

An information centre will be open at Wellington City Council civic building between 10am and 4pm today. All council facilities, including libraries, are open today.

The council says all major utilities and infrastructure have been inspected and they are operating as normal.

Advice from Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown is that people should enjoy their normal weekend activities as much as possible.

She said both the Downtown Community Ministry bookfair and the Kirk's sale are starting today. "The city is operating as usual, sportsfields and recreation facilities are open - get out there and enjoy them."

Trains to start running, power to be restored

Wellington's trains are back running as normal this morning.

A slip on State Highway One near Seddon

All the rail lines in the capital were closed yesterday after the large quake.

KiwiRail says inspections have found no damage to the lines, so unless there is another large jolt, services will resume as normal this morning.

There is no structural damage to the Wellington Railway Station.

Tranz Metro says its website will be updated regularly and if anything changes it will let passengers know online and through its text messaging system.

Repair crews are out in Marlborough this morning, attempting to restore power to about 150 properties.

Six thousand homes were blacked out after yesterday's big shake.

Marlborough Lines spokesman Kelvin Deaker says crews have been out since 6.30am working to restore power as fast as they can.

He said most of the affected customers are on the east coast, south of Seddon and Ward.