WELLINGTON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government Thursday launched a technical investigation of buildings in the capital after Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake crippled parts of the country's infrastructure.
Much of central Wellington has been cordoned off since the quake struck just after midnight Monday as engineers continue examining the structural integrity of buildings in the central business district.
The government statistics agency, Statistics New Zealand, has been out of action since Monday after its head office, Statistics House, was seriously damaged.
The New Zealand Defense Force and security intelligence service headquarters buildings have also been closed, while Wellington City Council has said a 10-storey office building is so badly damaged and it will have to be taken down.
The Department of Internal Affairs announced Thursday that the national archives building had been evacuated following a report from a structural engineer.
"This week's significant earthquakes have tested the seismic strength of many of Wellington's multi-storey buildings. This investigation will focus on Statistics House to understand its performance and where there may be wider lessons for improved design," said Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith.
"My advice from officials is that the vast bulk of Wellington buildings have performed well, but if information comes to hand on other issues related to seismic performance, the investigation may be widened," Smith said in a statement.
"The key to reducing the significant risks New Zealand faces from earthquakes is ensuring we learn every lesson possible. This investigation will help this ongoing improvement in our seismic design standards."
With all of New Zealand's main centers exposed to natural hazard risks, including tsunamis, volcanoes and earthquakes, government agencies needed to be redistributed to provincial areas, New Zealand First defense spokesperson Ron Mark said in a statement.
