Thousands stranded and towns cut off after New Zealand quakes – as it happened

As New Zealand counts the costs of the earthquake, Eleanor Ainge Roy in Hanmer Springs, rounds up the latest developments.

That’s it for the live blog for now. There will be more updates on our New Zealand earthquake 2016 page.

Simon Rooke, commanding officer of HMNZS Canterbury the ship being sent to the worst-hit areas, says his priority will be rescuing 500 stranded tourists.

“Our main aim is to get the people out first,” he said.

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Heavy rain has added to the risk of land slides, Wellington city council has warned.

The region’s acting civil defence controller, Anthony Wilson, says: “The conditions are right for landslips – so motorists should be extra vigilant, especially on blind bends. Better still, stay home if you can.”

Some buildings in Wellington are still be checked for earthquake damange. People are being urged to check with their employers on the safety of their workplace before returning to work.

“The earthquake was the worst I’ve ever experienced,” emails reader Brian Jones, who lives in in Lower Hutt, 40km north of Wellington.

But life is slowly getting back to normal despite the aftershocks, he says.

There was no damage to my house or contents, but my house was built in 2000 to modern earthquake codes. My neighbours are all fine to. We didn’t lose power or utilities, but there was power outages to Upper Hutt, to the north of us, and to the Lower Hutt.

All power is now restored. The trains and buses are now running again into Wellington. I even went shopping at the supermarket this afternoon.

There has been a steady stream of military helicopters flying from Trentham (the NZ Army base just north of us) to the south. The aftershocks are trying - we have earthquakes of magnitude 3-5 every 3-5 minutes. Hopefully back to work tomorrow.

A breach in the Clarence River, north of Kaikoura, is not as severe as previously feared, according to civil defence authorities.

They warned people to stay away from the river but have decided not to evacuate residents.

The New Zealand news site Stuff says a land slide dammed the river about 10km upstream from the mouth, north of Kaikoura. The banked-up water burst through the wall of debris about 4.20pm. A helicopter in the area saw the breach and the water beginning to roll downstream.

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AP has footage of those stranded cows on a tiny of clumped of grass somewhere near Kaikoura.

14 Nov 201602.54 EST

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Aerial photos taken by New Zealand’s airforce show “massive rockfalls in several areas in the upper South Island”, according to a Facebook update from the defence force.

Darryn Webb, the Acting Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said” “It is clear from the photos taken by our personnel that the major route from Christchurch to Kaikoura is impassable. So is the road from Kaikoura to Hanmer Springs and the one from Blenheim to Kaikoura.”

The NZDF also confirmed that HMNZS Canterbury has been deployed to help evacuate “a large number of tourists and residents in Kaikoura”, as well as bring aid supplies to the worst hit areas.

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I am handing over to my colleague Matthew Weaver now. He will keep you up to date with all the latest developments as a battered New Zealand prepares for storms to hit overnight. Thanks for reading.

• A 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit near Hanmer Springs in the north of South Island, New Zealand at 12.02am.
• Two people are confirmed dead.
• Several main roads and rail lines have been badly damaged and are impassable.
• Thousands of people were evacuated to high ground after a tsunami warning was issued. The warnings were lifted, but people remain advised to stay away from waterways due to strong waves and currents.
• Kaikoura, a town of about 2,000 people, in the South Island, has been almost completely isolated with roads closed and phone lines down. There is a state of emergency in place for the town.
• One thousand tourists will be airlifted out over the coming days, and a frigate is also en route to evacuate people. It could be two weeks until the roads reopen.
• John Key, the prime minister, toured the affected area and said the damage, which could cost the nation $2bn, was “horrendous”.
• There are severe weather warnings for the northern parts of South Island, which could hamper the response effort.
• The Clarence river dam has been breached, sending a wall of water downstream and threatening farms.
• Scientists think the quake might have actually been two quakes in separate faults.
• A strong 6.8-magnitude aftershock hit near Cheviot in the South Island.
• A 100-year-old woman has been pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed homestead.
• Residents have been advised to boil drinking water in the town of Raglan after water supplies were affected by the quake.

New Zealanders are counting the cost of the earthquake that swallowed roads, twisted railway lines and left towns and cities smashed and deserted.

Read our latest full report on the aftermath of the 7.5-magnitude quake here: