Earthquake Press Releases

Whitebaiters are ignoring warnings to cease fishing in sewage contaminated Canterbury rivers following the earthquake. Whitebait, fish and shellfish taken from sewage-contaminated rivers, river mouths or estuaries, including the Waimakariri, Selwyn, Heathcote, Avon, Halswell and Styx rivers could cause serious illness.

The geotechnical report delivered by engineers to the Earthquake Commission states that the majority of land can and will be fixed. Gerry Brownlee has issued a timeline leading to public release of information. Information from the geotechnical report will be released in conjunction with decisions on what will be done to address the damage in each affected area, so as to minimise stress to residents.

Two earthquake damaged buildings in Christchurch are likely to be demolished as they pose an immediate danger to the safety of people. The Acting CEO of the Council will issue warrants for the demolitions, under section 129 of the Building Act 2004.

The Government is helping Canterbury builders, tradespeople and designers become licensed building practitioners so they can be involved with rebuilding Canterbury following the earthquake.

The Christchurch City Council, alongside other agencies, continues to work on the recovery phase following the 4 September earthquake.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has announced members of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Commission, whose establishment is a requirement of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010.

The Christchurch City Council, alongside other agencies, continues to work on the recovery phase following the 4 September earthquake. This is focused on the key areas of infrastructure, welfare, buildings, natural environment, business and rural issues. The Council has been in direct contact with those worst affected as well as keeping the community informed through paid advertising, public meetings, website updates, leaflet and letter drops, house and business visits.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs has been praised for its work in helping Christchurch’s ethnic communities access accurate information on crisis assistance and other available services following the earthquake.

BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index shows a slight improvement in the service sector activity in August 2010. However results over the next few months may not be as favourable following the Canterbury earthquake.

The government will contribute up to $10 million to assist repair, restore, and strengthen heritage and character buildings in Canterbury that have been damaged by the earthquake.

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says the fast track process put in place to deal with minor house damage and lost contents has helped over 1,700 quake victims already.

The New Zealand Law Society’s Property Law Section says a difficult situation is emerging with property settlements in the area affected by the Canterbury earthquake, and it may need government intervention.

Canterbury school children have been given the chance to tell their own personal story of the recent Christchurch earthquake with the creation of a dedicated website www.whenmyhomeshook.co.nz.

A call for government assistance on Christchurch Heritage Restoration is being made by the NZ Archaeological Association.

In the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquake, Bids4biz.co.nz is offering to help quake victims find trades people to help their rebuilding efforts.

Education Minister Anne Tolley has thanked principals, teachers, board members, students and Ministry of Education staff in Canterbury as they work to get schools up and running. The majority of schools will be open on Monday, but a few have structural problems.

Nathan Guy has visited Canterbury firefighters to thank them for their efforts and inspect recovery work. The Fire Service have moved from their initial involvement with assisting medical incidents and freeing trapped people to dealing with structural incidents.

Civil Defence Director, John Hamilton says public services are recovering in the Canterbury region, despite a series of aftershocks that accelerated this morning after a relative lull yesterday.

The Government is working on a suite of streamlined measures to help ensure a swift recovery from the canterbury earthquake. Gerry Brownlee has been working with insurers, the Earthquake Commission, banks and local government to ensure a swift process of paying out claims to people who have suffered damage.

A number of support schemes are assisting Canterbury individuals, employers and community providers following the earthquake.