Weeks To Sift Through New Zealand Rubble, Producers Dumping Milk
Aftershocks are still being felt in New Zealand as the country tries to recover from a massive earthquake, and the devastation will impact the major dairy producing nation from exporting its goods.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck the South Island in a mostly rural area that’s dotted with small towns.
So far, the government confirmed two deaths, but the tremor caused severe damage to buildings and roads, tearing fissures into roads and sparking landslides.
“The slips on State Highway 1 are significant,” said Mark Owen of the New Zealand Transit Agency. “It could be days or weeks before we can really get in there and clear those slips.”
Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, said some of its farms were without power and would likely have to dump milk, while other shipments are expected to be late.
That area accounts for roughly 13 percent of the New Zealand’s milk output. Analysts expect the earthquake to lift milk prices at the Global Dairy Trade event.
Watch video of two stranded cows and a calf in the damage, that have since been rescued, on AgDay above.
