Christchurch death toll stands at 148
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The death toll from Christchurch's earthquake has reached 148 and more than 50 people are still listed as missing, police said on Monday.
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Quake-damaged vehicles are seen in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Feb. 27, 2011. The confirmed death toll from the New Zealand Christchurch earthquake rose to 146 on Sunday, while the number of missing people remains at more than 200. [Li Qiuchan/Xinhua] |
![Quake-damaged vehicles are seen in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Feb. 27, 2011. The confirmed death toll from the New Zealand Christchurch earthquake rose to 146 on Sunday, while the number of missing people remains at more than 200. [Li Qiuchan/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110228/000cf1bdd03f0ed53b7401.jpg "Quake-damaged vehicles are seen in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Feb. 27, 2011. The confirmed death toll from the New Zealand Christchurch earthquake rose to 146 on Sunday, while the number of missing people remains at more than 200. [Li Qiuchan/Xinhua]")
No survivors have been rescued from the rubble since Wednesday following the killer 6.3 magnitude quake.
Death toll reaches 148
Superintendent Dave Cliff told a joint media conference in the city on Monday that the death toll had now reached 148, with more bodies expected. Police have said the death toll is expected to pass 200.
"It may be that human remains are located but not complete bodies. That's an enormously sad thing for the families involved," he said.
Fire Service spokesman Russell Wood said fires in the demolished buildings could also make identifying bodies more difficult.
Wood said the devastated Pyne Gould Corporation building had moved slightly amid a wave of aftershocks hitting Christchurch.
Despite fears of future movement, recovery teams would continue to work at the site, he said.
A crane was being brought into the area Monday to pick off material.
Wood said Urban Search and Rescue were continuing to search every building in the city center one by one.
Some team members were being lifted onto the top of damaged buildings so they could continue searching for people from the " top down rather than the bottom up", he said.
Wood said a large temporary structure had been installed at the Cathedral to stabilize a wall.
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said there would inevitably be an inquiry as a result of last week's devastation.
While the PGC building was built in the 1960s, earthquake building codes only came about in the following decades, he said. The Cantebury TV building was built in 1985 and had been upgraded in 1992.
Mayor Bob Parker said the Grand Chancellor hotel remained a risk but had stopped moving.
Bad weather expected
He told reporters a health warning had been issued for Christchurch as bad weather was expected to stir up thousands of tons of silt and dust dislodged by the earthquake.
High strength winds expected to hit the city on Monday could fill the air with the 180,000 tons of silt, he said. That compared to 30,000 tons of silt dislodged in last September's earthquake.
The material could affect people's respiratory systems, he said.
The mayor said 55,000 homes remained without water - around 35 percent of residential properties.
A New Zealand Red Cross spokesman told the conference the organization had already received around 5.2 million NZ dollars (3. 8 million U.S. dollars) in donations for its earthquake appeal. All of the money donated will go to the victims with the organization absorbing administration costs.
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