wellington_fromtopofmountvictoria_jpg_5213125079.jpg Acting Civil Defence Minister Brownlee also defended the council's decision to declare the central city safe so quickly after the quake. He stressed that the number of Wellington buildings identified as a concern was relatively small. Brownlee said some of the buildings which had been evacuated were damaged in aftershocks, rather than in the main quake. There was no justification for a city-wide cordon or a "red zone" similar to Christchurch after the 2011 quakes, he said. He said Civil Defence had powers to act, "and they will - in the interests of public safety".

Source: Otago Daily Times November 18, 2016 05:19 UTC