Christchurch Earthquake - NZDF - Update 8

More than 1400 New Zealand Defence Force personnel are now committed to the earthquake response efforts in Christchurch City.

NZ Army personnel and their Singapore Armed Forces counterparts are continuing to provide the 24/7 cordon around the central city, with security patrols also in place in the suburbs of Bexley and Waltham.

Engineers are still producing clean water for the public in the New Brighton area, and are manning a water distribution point in Lyttelton.

Two Environmental Health teams are working with the Ministry of Health, while the catering teams are producing 1900 breakfasts, 2000 lunches and dinners and 350 midnight meals per day.

HMNZS OTAGO, HMNZS PUKAKI and HMNZS CANTERBURY remain in port at Lyttelton.

The Royal New Zealand Navy’s Littoral Warfare Support Group has completed an underwater survey of the inner harbour and the port is considered safe for navigation.

HMNZS CANTERBURY provided a further 500 meals into the Lyttelton centre last night, and 50 packaged meals for the NZ Fire Service. CANTERBURY will provide one further meal service tonight before she sails to Wellington tomorrow.

Navy personnel are providing security patrols in the Lyttelton town centre.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has now moved 1542 passengers in and out of Christchurch, and 121,000 tonnes of freight has been facilitated by the RNZAF into Christchurch in the last 24 hours. Many thousands more tonnes of freight from international military aircraft have also been unloaded and moved into the city.

RNZAF Iroquois helicopters yesterday moved Canterbury University personnel to locations around Banks Peninsula to install seismic sensors.

They also transported MPs and treasury staff and assisted civil engineers and city council personnel with reconnaissance over the Sunmer/Redcliffs area.