No Vietnamese in New Zealand quake zone

NDO/VNA—The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade released a list on November 16 of foreign tourists evacuated from the areas most heavily affected by recent earthquakes, with no Vietnamese reported among them.

The list of foreigners evacuated from Kaikoura, on the eastern shore of New Zealand’s South Island, includes more than 100 tourists from nineteen countries, mostly Australians, Britons, Germans, Americans and Swedes.

All of them were transported by helicopters and ships belonging to the New Zealand Navy to Woodend, a town in the central region of the country.

On November 15, more than 400 people were evacuated from Kaikoura and New Zealand’s defence forces planned to use helicopters to transport 200 others to Christchurch on the night of November 16.

It is estimated that there are between 600 and 700 tourists who wish to leave Kaikoura, a small town with a population of 2,000.

By the afternoon of November 16 (local time), more than 1,600 aftershocks occurred in New Zealand after a series of strong earthquakes with magnitudes of up to 7.8 at dawn on November 14.

Rescue work and activities to overcome the consequences of the quakes in Kaikoura continue with assistance from the US military. US naval ships carrying relief are expected to arrive at South Island on November 17.