In New Zealand, emergency services and defence personnel began evacuating hundreds of tourists and residents from the South Island town of Kaikoura today, a day after a powerful earthquake hit the region, killing two people.<br/><br/> The 7.8-magnitude tremor struck just after midnight on Sunday, destroying farm homesteads, sending glass and masonry toppling from high rises in the capital Wellington and cutting road and rail links throughout the northeast of the South Island.<br/><br/> Kaikoura, a popular base for whale-watching about 150 kilometers northeast of Christchurch and near the epicenter, was completely cut off by massive landslips. <br/><br/>Gale-force winds and rain were hampering recovery efforts, and hundreds of aftershocks continued to rock the region. Around 1,200 tourists were stranded in the town, officials said.<br/><br/>Prime Minister John Key flew over Kaikoura yesterday and described the landslips in the mountainous area as just horrendous. The repair bill was likely to run into billions of dollars, he said. <br/><br/>Civil Defence estimated 80,000-100,000 landslides had been caused by the quakes. Hundreds of homes remained without power and telecommunications, with huge cracks in roads, landslips and other damage to infrastructure making it hard to reach the worst-affected areas.