NEW CALEDONIA – A New Caledonian anti-independence party has called for the French army to be deployed to contain the lawlessness south of Noumea where gunmen have repeatedly attacked road users and blocked the main road.

The Union for Caledonia in France has written to the French High Commissioner, saying the disruptions are unacceptable and would not be tolerated anywhere else in France.

It said the military forces already in the territory should be used to help disarm the gunmen who have taken the local population hostage with impunity.

It said it is fortunate that none of the commuters have been seriously hurt by the rocks that have been thrown and the guns that have been fired.

However at the end of October, five policemen suffered gun shot injuries when gunmen blocked the road for three days with dozens of stolen vehicles which were set alight.

There has been no arrest.

The French government has condemned the violence and decided to send an extra 53 police officers to New Caledonia in February. - RNZI Earthquake strength revised upwards

NEW ZEALAND – The military evacuation of hundreds of tourists and locals from the earthquake-hit New Zealand town of Kaikoura has been completed.

Nearly 400 people transferred to the navy vessel HMNZS Canterbury, which has on since arrived safely at Lyttelton and taken by bus to Christchurch.

The US department of defence has deployed the USS Sampson – the first US warship to visit New Zealand for 30 years – to aid the relief effort, and Australia is also sending assistance vessels.

The earthquake that rocked New Zealand on Monday has been officially upgraded from magnitude 7.5 to 7.8. Geonet, the country’s geological monitor, said it was one of the most complex earthquakes ever recorded on land.

The revised magnitude means the main shock was in fact nearly twice as big and nearly three times stronger, in terms of energy release, than had been thought, and could lead to stronger aftershocks for a longer duration than expected.

Aerial pictures have shown changes in the eastern coastline of the South Island, apparently caused by the raising of the seabed.

More than 2000 aftershocks have been recorded.

The first road route into Kaikoura has been partially re-opened, with SH70 from Culverden cleared for military-style 4WD vehicles. It is unclear when it will be fully open to the public.

A number of offices and apartments in Wellington have been evacuated due to safety concerns but the city as a whole has held up “extremely well”, authorities say.

A 10-storey building at 61 Molesworth St will need to be demolished.

Civil Defence said the unoccupied office building had severe structural damage and was at risk of collapse.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester estimated about 60 buildings in Wellington were now closed as a result of the earthquake.

But Wellington City Council building compliance and consent manager Mike Scott said the city had held up “extremely well”, given the size of the shake.

He said there had been a “perfect storm” in the city in the past 56 hours with the earthquake, rain, high winds and a king tide.

One of Wellington’s regional shopping malls is expected to be shut until at least the end of the week as a result of the earthquakes.

The Queensgate Mall in Lower Hutt, which has three floors and 182 shops, was closed yesterday and cordoned off to the public.

Structural engineers were assessing the site.

Fears are mounting for wildlife in the most affected regions.

Conservationists said half of the largest colony of the critically endangered Hutton Shearwater sea bird had been destroyed.

The department of conservation said seals were likely to have been killed in a landslide that wiped out breeding grounds at Ohau Point, near Kaikoura.

Crayfish, thrust out of the ocean onto the Kaikoura coastline, have been either gathered for eating or ushered back into the water by locals.

Disorientated crayfish were unable to find their way back to the ocean, and by Tuesday word had spread through the coastal settlements along State Highway 1 about the easy pickings to be had.

On Ward beach, the coastal rock shelf was raised by the force of the quake. Local fishermen estimated the rock shelf was two metres higher.

The government says it will consider funding the GeoNet quake monitoring service for 24/7 staffing.

GeoNet director Dr Ken Gledhill said the service needed around the clock staff to make vital decisions about tsunami threats.

A spokesperson for Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee said extra funding for the monitoring centre to be staffed 24/7 would be considered as part of a civil defence review.

Prime Minister John Key said tsunami warnings would be looked at as part of the civil defence review.

“They are locally dictated, and anyway, I think every New Zealander needs to follow the very clear instructions, which is if an earthquake is long and strong and you’re by a coastline, act quickly.

“Because sometimes even with the best tsunami warning systems in the world, you won’t get out fast enough unless you take very fast action,” Key said.

- PNC sources