One-month anniversary of 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake

A month ago the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake shattered Kaikoura, and the town is still struggling.

The quake struck just after midnight on November 14, causing massive fault line ruptures and slips, damaging buildings and closing key roads.

Mt Lyford resident Jo-Anne MacKinnon and Louis Edgar, of Kaikoura, died in the quake and dozens were injured.

State Highway 1 south of Kaikoura, which was closed by slips, will reopen to residents and essential services soon, the New Zealand Transport Authority said yesterday.

However, the tourism hotspot is still struggling with few visitors to the town since the quake.

Kaikoura Mayor Winston Gray told NewstalkZB this morning the town was "hanging on" reasonably well.

"But with business, I hope we're at the bottom of the trough. There's not many people coming into the village itself so there's not much spend going on through the shops, hotels, bars etc.

"People are holding together in anticipation of that road reopening."

Gray said Government assistance and Lotto NZ giving its $2.7 million profit from the December 10 draw were a great support for the town.

"But going forward we've got big infrastructure issues.

"It's a bit of suck and see. If we get the harbour works done, that will be a great plus."

Gray hoped to get domestic tourists, who typically came from Christchurch, in the town again once the road reopened.

Meanwhile, Wellingtonians are working around cordons and damaged buildings to get the local economy back on its feet.

Wellington's buildings and infrastructure suffered major damage, which is now taking longer to repair than was initially hoped.

Traffic has become a growing problem, thanks to road closures and a lack of safe parking.

Cordons are still up in places, protecting the public from unstable buildings needing to be repaired or demolished.

Ongoing demolition at 61 Molesworth Street. Photo / Frances Cook

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester is hoping some of the damage can be fixed with a taxpayer cash injection.

"We are working with Greater Wellington Regional Council and central Government around how we could best make the city more resilient," Lester said.

"It could be help like fast-track consenting processes. It could be financial contribution. We're working through that with them."

Recovery efforts are being complicated by the need to check buildings even when they're not obviously damaged.

"You might have had a building that was 100 per cent of code and it might have gone down to 90 per cent, for example," Lester said.

"We want to understand which buildings might have been compromised, and might be more prone to damage in the future."

The instability in the region has left many businesses facing a tough Christmas.

Courtenay Central's Fix is closed until the car park is demolished. Photo / Frances Cook

First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said December was the worst possible time for cordons to be in place.

"This is the time for many businesses in the retail and hospitality sector where they're able to get some gains. They've probably been waiting for that all through winter.

"All of a sudden we hit summer and Christmas particularly. That's where they would have made money to get them through January and February when people are away on holiday."

Wilkinson is warning businesses to prepare for at least four months of disruption, pointing out that unpredictable weather has already caused delays for the demolition of 61 Molesworth St and the Queensgate cinema.

"One impact is the businesses that have been shut out of their operations. Another is the businesses who have lost an established audience.

"Dare I say it, both are of the same impact.

"It sounds crazy, that the people who are still trading are impacted.

"But in some parts of the city large amounts of employees have been displaced. Think about the businesses that were built to service those.

"So their audience has changed, and it's going to take some time for those businesses to regain their turnover, their profile, their goodwill."

Tinsel has been added to parts of the cordon at Courtenay Central. Photo / Frances Cook

Wellington Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Milford agreed that hospitality and retail were the worst hit, as well as connected businesses such as suppliers.

"You have some hospitality saying 'we're feeling the impact because there are less people, or a building that was near us is now not occupied, so my customers are not there'."

Milford said the one positive was the reminder that everyone needed to be prepared.

He said businesses and individuals had had a wake-up call to organise emergency kits, and talk over contact plans with their loved ones.

Part of Tory Street is closed, until Reading Cinema's car park is demolished. Photo / Frances Cook

Earthquake damage in Wellington

Reading Cinema car park is scheduled for demolition. The Courtenay Central complex is closed until that is done. Cordons are in place on Tory St between Wakefield St and Courtenay Pl.

Queensgate cinema is being demolished. Parts of the mall are still open to the public.

61 Molesworth St is being demolished. Molesworth St is closed between Hawkstone St and Hill St while that's under way. Buildings close to the demolition site are closed.

Statistics House is condemned, and an MBie investigation is under way into the extent of the damage.

The Asteron Centre is closed for repairs, causing the largest loss of office floor space in the city, at 33,500sq m. It's hoped it will reopen before Christmas.

BNZ House is closed for repairs.

Defence headquarters at Freyburg House is closed for repairs. Staff are working at other locations around the city. Aitken St has a pedestrian-only cordon north of the building.

Katherine Mansfield House is open for visitors once more, but repair work is ongoing. A fundraising campaign has so far raised $2000 to help the historic homestead.

The High Court in Wellington is closed until early next year. Its interior suffered significant water and "other" damage.

Greater Wellington Regional Council's CentrePort building is closed.

Deloitte House is closed for repairs.

The British High Commission is temporarily closed for repairs. For now it's operating out of the Australian High Commission, at 72-76 Hobson St, Thorndon.

Revera House is closed. Mulgrave St pedestrians are being redirected because of the building's damage.

The Civic Administration Building at 101 Wakefield St is closed until further notice. Cordons are in place on nearby footpaths.

Ngaio Town Hall, including the Ngaio Childcare Centre, is closed for repairs.

The Central Library's second floor is closed, although the rest of the library is open.

Clifton car park off The Terrace has closed some sections, including the motorbike parking area.

Kumutoto North car park is closed.

Pipitea St is closed between Murphy St and Moturoa St.

Clyde St in Island Bay is partially closed.

Featherston St is open to traffic, but has cordons around three areas affecting car parking.

Hawkestone St's southern footpath is cordoned off.

The corner of Manners and Taranaki Sts has a cordon to protect pedestrians from glass.