WELLINGTON: Several buildings in the center of New Zealand's capital have been evacuated and some streets cordoned off after engineers determined that a nine-story building is in danger of collapsing, two days after a powerful earthquake shook the city.
Brendan Nally, the regional commander for the New Zealand Fire Service, said engineers were completing an inspection of the downtown Wellington office building Tuesday when they found that a major vertical beam had failed above the fifth floor.
He said that "the building is at significant risk of collapse."
The inspection came after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake rattled much of the country early Monday, just after midnight.
Nally said the building was empty when the quake struck.
He said the buildings that were evacuated include the local headquarters for the Red Cross and the Thai Embassy.