MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.
ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
And, Mr. Meade, what's the latest that you have?
MICHAEL MEADE: The latest we have is that we have now confirmed that 75 people have died, and 55 of those have been identified and 20 haven't been. We expect that the number of fatalities will rise. And as soon as we get that information, we will release that to the media.
SIEGEL: How many people do you figure are still trapped inside buildings that collapsed in the quake?
MEADE: So it is a tragic situation, but there is some ways of light as survivors make miraculously escapes down there.
SIEGEL: And what are your expectations or concerns about aftershocks?
MEADE: There's been a number of aftershocks. In fact, by 6 a.m. this morning when I came into the (unintelligible) shift here, there have been 27 aftershocks. The September quake - on September 4th, there was literally hundreds of aftershocks that's terrifying for people. But those aftershocks will no doubt continue.
SIEGEL: What - as you understand it, what is the conditions of the older buildings, the historic buildings in Christchurch that obviously were built before construction was developed to cope with the threat of earthquake?
MEADE: There's been widespread damage to the buildings, including the iconic Christchurch Cathedral. People could probably Google that image and see it, and that's been really terribly(ph) damaged. A number of buildings have almost completely collapsed. And we believe there are still people in those buildings. So the (unintelligible) is really focused on people we believe still to be alive and getting those people out.
SIEGEL: Do you have any estimate of how many people have been rendered at least temporarily homeless by the quake?
MEADE: I don't have any official figures. But what we're hearing is reports of hundreds of people leaving their homes, leaving the central business district, which is the district that's been the most terribly damaged, and going to welfare centers, including outdoor welfare centers in places like Hagley Park and Christchurch.
SIEGEL: Of course, on that side of the globe, it's summer.
MEADE: On the day after the earthquake on September 4th last year, we had high winds and there was a (unintelligible) that that could actually bring - damage buildings down. But the weather has been more temperate this time given the, you know, the season.
SIEGEL: Well, Mr. Meade, thank you so much for talking with us and good luck to you.
MEADE: No problem. Thank you very much.
SIEGEL: Michael Meade speaking to us from Wellington, New Zealand, where he's a spokesman for the National Crisis Management Centre. They're coping with the earthquake, the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck near Christchurch this week.
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