Edith Cavell Bridge to stay closed after Milford Sound quakes

Fallen rocks have been removed from the road after last night's earthquakes in the South Island, but a major bridge will remain closed for inspection.A 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit 40 kilometres northeast of Milford Sound at 6:16pm on Wednesday. That was followed by a 5.6 quake, and three more light to weak aftershocks.Edith Cavell Bridge would stay closed until engineers had inspected the structure, the Queenstown Lakes District Council said on Thursday.The bridge crosses the Shotover River in Arthurs Point, about 15 minutes from Queenstown."We hope to provide an update around 8.30am pending the outcome of an inspection. In the meantime, traffic from Arthurs Point should detour via Malaghans Road and through Dalefield."Crews were also working to open one lane of Glenorchy-Queenstown Road."The team are aiming to open one lane of Glenorchy-Queenstown Road (between One Mile Roundabout and Sunshine Bay turn-off) from 2pm this afternoon. The lane heading into Queenstown will remain closed until at least Thursday next week while repair work is completed following a recent slip - traffic can still detour over Fernhill Road."The Queenstown Lakes District Council said minor rockfall on SH6 through the Kawarau Gorge had now been cleared.More information on tsunami risk being gatheredThe tsunami risk at Piopiotahi/ Milford Sound has been known for some time but new science and modelling is underway to understand it better, DOC's Southern, South Island director Aaron Fleming says.He was talking to Morning Report after Southland's mayor Rob Scott told the programme the tragedy in Nepal should prompt practical preparation for the threat of a tsunami at Piopiotahi /Milford Sound.DOC now had a communications strategy so that information could be shared with people before they visited the area, Fleming said.Milford Sound in Fiordland.123rfDOC was working with Emergency Management Southland, NEMA and councils as well as businesses operating in the region.It was important that people understood their options for staying safe if a tsunami was triggered in Milford Sound were limited, he said.In the next few months modelling would take place to understand the type of wave it would create, its size and its impact."That will certainly help us hone our skills in terms of the response and how we can better mitigate the risk."Fleming said Milford Sound was the eighth wonder of the world and "a visitor magnet" and DOC wanted to encourage people to enjoy it.During the earthquake that occurred in the area in July people went along the road away from the scene and were able to get to higher ground.However, he stressed the timeframe to leave was very short."The modelling we are doing ...will give us more details around the length of time people will have because it's not a lot of time. But the best thing you can do is if it's long or strong, get to that higher ground."Once the modelling was finished it would help with details on evacuation routes and other safety messages.