DHAKA: Gale and heavy rain in the South Island of New Zealand are impeding the airlift of hundreds of people still stranded after Monday’s powerful earthquake.

Dozens of helicopters are being drafted in to move residents and tourists from the seaside town of Kaikoura, reports the BBC.

It is a whale-watching resort that was hit hard and cut off by the quake.

Hundreds of aftershocks have rocked the area, with major road and rail links still severed.

Two people were killed in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and billions of dollars of damage was caused.

It is estimated that up to 1,200 tourists are among those stranded by the quake which has been blamed for causing “utter devastation” on the north-eastern coast of the South Island.

A navy ship is heading towards Kaikoura, whose population of 2,000 people bore the worst impact of the quake.

GeoNet said the first quake was the strongest to have hit New Zealand since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 2009 in a remote area of the South Island.

The US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 7.8, while GeoNet put it at 7.5.

New Zealand lies on the Ring of Fire, the fault line that circles virtually the entire Pacific Rim bringing frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions.

Christchurch is still recovering from a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 people and destroyed the city center.

BDST: 0959 HRS, NOV 15, 2016
NJ/SR