6 Sep 2010

Newspapers focus on Caterbury quake

6:42 am on 6 September 2010

All the newspapers cover just one story on Monday - the Canterbury earthquake.

The Press

The Press has only one picture on its front page - Homebush, the residence of the Deans family for six generations - which has been turned to rubble.

Jim Deans - the cousin of Australian rugby coach Robbie Deans - escaped from his upstairs bedroom as it collapsed.

Inside a special edition of the paper, The Press says inner-city Christchurch remains off-limits to an estimated 50,000 workers on Monday and Mayor Bob Parker warns it could be months before life returns to normal.

Business and city leaders say a silver lining will be the injection of money to rebuild the city.

An inner-city cordon and curfew remained in place on Sunday night and the state of emergency, which finishes at noon, is expected to be extended.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald says nature was wreaking more havoc on Canterbury on Monday morning as high winds battered the province. With costs from the earthquake now estimated at $2 billion, the Government may have to break its own rules to help.

The region is already facing a quake bill so large that the Government will give councils hundreds of millions of dollars to help out. More than 4000 people have already lodged claims with the Earthquake Commission.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post headline is "Wake up New Zealand". It says the shake was a frightening reminder that the big one will hit one day and we'd better be ready.

Civil Defence says up to half of New Zealand households are not prepared for an emergency and another massive quake is a matter of when, not if.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times says the trauma of losing a home is taking an increasingly emotional toll on Christchurch residents, some of whom are facing days, or weeks, of living without the basics, coping with contaminated tap water and failed sewerage services.

Mayor Bob Parker warns fatigue is setting in for people who have been working since the quake struck at 4.35am on Saturday.