Christchurch quake: 10,000 homes 'cannot be rebuilt'

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key has said 10,000 homes in Christchurch are lost forever and cannot be rebuilt after the 22 February earthquake.

He also announced a national memorial day of 18 March, with events planned for Christchurch's Hagley Park.

On Sunday the treasury department said that quake recovery would cost the country NZ$15bn ($11bn; £9.2bn).

The death toll, at 166 so far, is expected to rise to around 200 as rescue work continues.

Rescue workers were relieved to find no dead in the rubble of the collapsed tower of Christchurch Cathedral; they had earlier pulled about 90 bodies from the Canterbury TV building.

Victims are being identified using fingerprints, DNA, dental records and other personal items such as jewellery.

The painstaking process could take months to complete, officials say, adding to the misery of relatives waiting for news. ...

via BBC News - Christchurch quake: 10,000 homes 'cannot be rebuilt'.