New Zealand quake death toll rises to 145

Fresh aftershocks sent masonry tumbling among rescuers in New Zealand’s quake zone and a cat sparked false alarms today of a possible survivor, as the disaster’s death toll rose to 145 with more than 200 missing.

Grim assessments emerged for the fate of the central business district in devastated Christchurch, with engineers and planners saying it will be unusable for months and that about a third of the buildings must be destroyed and rebuilt.