10 years needed to rebuild damaged NZ city

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand - It will take at least 10 years to rebuild Christchurch, officials said on Thursday, warning it would be months before they could even begin to reopen the quake-hit New Zealand city.

The timeline, outlining the scale of damage to the country's second largest city, came as the death toll from last week's devastating quake rose to 161, with expectations it will rise to more than 240.

Civil defense head John Hamilton said that officials now believed there were no more survivors beneath the rubbles across the city.