Home » Information and services » Christchurch Earthquake » Christchurch Earthquake week four
The state of national emergency has been extended for another week to 21 March.
In anticipation of thousands of people returning to Christchurch, ‘returning home’ information has been prepared. This includes full page adverts in The Press this week and updates on www.canterburyearthquake.org.nz. Find out more information here.
Prince William will attend a National Memorial Service for the victims of the February 22 earthquake to be held in North Hagley Park in Christchurch on Friday March 18, peoplare are asked to arrive by 12noon. Two minutes silence will be observed at 12.51pm. The service will conclude at 2-2.30pm.
Click here for more information about the service.
The Memorial Walk through parts of the CBD, originally planned for Friday 18 March, will not take place.
Is my school open? Click here to find out
110 schools and colleges opened on Monday.
By the end of the week 143 schools will be open, 88 per cent of all schools.
It is anticipated the reopening of schools will cause traffic congestion. Police are urging students and parents to be patient and carpool, use public transport or walk or cycle where possible. See www.metroinfo.co.nz for bus information.
Other residents are urged not to drive unless necessary.
Three colleges, Burnside High School, Saint Bedes College and Papanui High School, are taking students from other colleges, which will impact traffic congestion further.
There will be some staggered start times so some residents and motorists will experience a greater influx of students in certain areas and outside of normal school times.
Police will be actively enforcing road rules, and remind motorists not to use mobile phones, to be alert around pedestrians and cyclists, and not to park illegally as this reduces visibility for other motorists.
Cyclists and pedestrians are asked to wear high-visibility clothing.
Adhere to all speed limits, and pay particular attention to temporary speed limits.
It is expected that 234 early childhood education services, or 69 per cent, will be open by the end of the week.
550 properties outside of the CBD are still without power.
Orion has requested that customers outside the CBD, who remain without power, call them on 363 9898.
For people in the southern and eastern suburbs, please use as little electricity as possible as the system is still quite fragil:
Turn off unnecessary appliances at the wall and use sparingly.
Ensure you have access to a torch in case of power disruptions.
Over 300 cars have been retrieved from the CBD and reunited with their owners.
Some cars have been retrieved but police do not have up-to-date contact details for these vehicles.
Anyone with a vehicle located in the CBD is asked to register their details by ringing 0800 311 311. This phone line is open from 8am to 5pm everyday. Please only register your vehicle details once.
Portable showers are now available at six locations throughout Christchurch:
Cowles Stadium – Pages Road
Wilding Park – Woodham Road
Avondale Golf Course – Cnr of Wainoni and Avondale Road
New Brighton – Cnr of Hawke Street and Shaw Avenue
South New Brighton Motor Camp – Estuary Road
Shirley Rugby Club – New Brighton Road and Cresswell Ave
They will be open between 7 am and 7 pm, seven days a week. Bring a towel, soap / shampoo etc and jandals or shower footwear.
Silt removal should be completed today.
Pile silt on the road side for collection. DO NOT include any other rubbish or risk it not being picked up.
Bricks, masonry, carpet, and building debris should be stored on-site until they can be transported to a city transfer station.
People are asked not to dispose of toilet waste in public park rubbish bins as this poses a health risk for contractors.
Toilet waste should be wrapped and placed in a red wheelie bin.
If you are not registered with Red Cross, please contact your local Civil Defence Emergency Management Office, who will then register you to ensure that you are not included as a missing person.
Please alert friends and family that you are safe.
If you have left your CCC flat call the council on 941 8999 and let them know where you are staying.
Linwood Community Link – 154 Aldwins Road, Linwood
Wainoni Aranui Recreation Centre – 31 Hampshire Street, Wainoni
Parklands Baptist Church – 180 Queenspark Drive, Parklands
St Faiths Hall – 46 Hawke Street, New Brighton
Nga Hau e Wha Marae – 250 Pages Road
Aranui Shirley Rugby Club – Burwood Park
New Brighton Road, Shirley/DallingtonLyttelton Recreation Centre – 25 Winchester Street, Lyttelton
Sydenham Community Centre – 23-25 Hutcheson Street, Sydenham
Mt Pleasant Yacht Club 41, Main Rd Mt Pleasant.
Old Boys’ Collegian Cricket Pavilion, Hagley Oval , South Hagley Park.
Waipuna Youth and Community Trust, 349 Woodham Road
Delta Trust, 105 North Avon Road
Aranui Seventh Day Church, cnr Pages Road and Rowan Avenue
Aranui Heartlands, 37-45 Hampshire Street
Christchurch Bishopdale Library, 13 Bishopdale Court, Bishopdale Shopping Centre
Little River Library, State highway 75, Little River
Akaroa Heartland Service Centre, 39 Rue Lavaud
Akaroa Library, 2 Selwyn Avenue
People can access a range of information relating to the Christchurch Earthquake response at Recovery Information Kiosks. These kiosks are unmanned and located at:
More kiosks will open soon. Check www.msd.govt.nz for more details.
See www.canterburyearthquake.org.nz for a map showing locations and availability of fuel, portaloos, supermarkets, bus routes, road closures and water distribution points in the Christchurch region. It has now been updated to include maps for chemical toilet collection tanks, recovery assistance centres and community run hubs.
Water has been restored to 94% of households.
Residents are reminded to continue boiling water until further notice.
960 Portaloos arrived from the United States on Saturday and are currently being assembled.
Another 200 are coming on Tuesday and will be distributed as soon as possible.
More chemical toilets were distributed over the weekend, with a focus on Avondale, Bromley and Avonside.
17,000 toilets are expected to have been delivered by Monday 14 March.
If you are not home when chemical toilets are being delivered a note will be left in your letter box detailing how you can obtain one. Civil Defence is working with the manufacturers to provide affected residents with information about correct use of chemical toilets and will make this available as soon as possible.
An estimated 60 percent of households can use toilets. If you have running water you can flush the toilet sparingly. Also, please check whether the flushing of your toilet is causing any blocking or issue either on your own property or within your immediate neighbourhood - this is because, although toilets may flush, there may be breaks in the system which could cause sewage to leak into the ground or flow in to the streets.
Instructions on how to use chemical toilets and how to dispose of chemical toilet waste are available at: http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/2011/03/07/how-to-use-your-chemical-toilet/
- from the Canterbury District Health board
Boil or treat all water from taps and tankers before drinking, brushing teeth or using in food preparation. Bringing water to the boil is sufficient to kill bugs. Water needs to be boiled even if the smell or taste of chlorine is present. If you cannot boil water, treat it by adding 1 teaspoon of household bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes.
Waterways are contaminated with sewage. Avoid contact with rivers, sea water, ponds, puddles or other surface water. Do not swim, paddle, fish, or gather shellfish or any other food from oceans and rivers.
In many parts of the city sewerage pipes have broken and sewage has mixed with liquefaction silt. People should avoid silt if they can, particularly if they don’t have running water to wash after contact. If people have to work with silt they should wear water-proof gloves, gumboots and a dust mask; shower or wash immediately afterwards; and wash clothes separately.
Take care when disposing of human waste (faeces, poo, vomit etc). Only solid waste can go into your red bin, and should be tightly wrapped in plastic. Wash your hands immediately after dealing with any human waste.
Wash your hands or use hand sanitiser often, particularly after toileting, and before and after eating or preparing food.
If you don’t have running water, if you get sick make a plan to move in with a friend or relative who has running water. When you are sick, running water (for hand washing and toileting) is very more important.
If you are sick, try to limit contact with other people, do not go to work and do not prepare food for anyone.
Take extreme care with food – particularly with food that should be refrigerated. Dispose of smelly, slimy, mouldy or discoloured food immediately. Do not refreeze food once power returns.
Water coolers – don’t use them until the boil water notice is lifted. When the boil water notice if lifted, ensure they are cleaned or maintained before resuming use.
Dishwashers - a full hot wash with detergent (not economy wash) must be used. Dishes must be allowed to dry fully prior to re-use.
There have been offers of help from different organisations in Auckland offering free accommodation/food to affected Fiji peoples in Christchurch for 6 weeks and work and accommodation for 6 months. The organisations are Hindu Heritage and Kiwi Packaging. for more information, please contact Bas Deo on 021 1001988. Hindu Heritage has stressed that the offer is for anyone from Fiji regardless of ethnicity or religion.
A web portal where businesses and not-for-profit organisations can pledge goods and services of use to other businesses or the Christchurch community has been established on http://pledge.canterburyearthquake.org.nz/ Pledges made through this site will be collated by Civil Defence staff to match needs identified by the many agencies working on earthquake recovery in Christchurch.
Smaller goods and services that do not require Civil Defence to become involved can be offered through the informal Trade Me site: Christchurch Earthquake Support.
People wanting to volunteer to help e are asked to register their interest at either www.trademe.co.nz or through the University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army at www.sva.org.nz or www.facebook.com/StudentVolunteerArmy
Red Cross has announced two grants, available online at www.redcross.org.nz or via a call centre to be activated Friday when the number will be announced. Next week Red Cross door knockers will take the forms out to the community.
Contact Te Puni Kokiri on 0800 875 839 or 027 600 9412
Contact Te Runanga O Ngaitahu on 0800 524 8248, www.Ngaitahu.iwi.nz
If you find a sticker on your house or building it means it has been inspected.
Red placards are issued for seriously damaged homes and commercial buildings. You MUST NOT ENTER a red-stickered building because it has been deemed UNSAFE.
Yellow placards indicate limited access to the building and further structural assessment is needed by the owner’s consultants.
Green placards mean that the home has received a brief inspection only. While no apparent structural or other safety hazards have been found, it is the home-owner’s responsibility to set up further evaluation
Green Zones 1 and 2 are now open to residents 24-hours a day. Properties may be occupied in these areas, if it is safe for you to do so.
Access to Green Zone 3 is now open to the public, please only travel to Green Zone 3 if you need to.
Due to the level of damage to specific significant buildings in Zone 4, this zone has now been reclassified from Green to Orange. Aftershocks have meant that buildings damaged in the earthquake have suffered further damage.
Entry restrictions for the cordon are changing every day, for further information please check http://canterburyearthquake.org.nz/cordon-access/
Call 0800 779 997 for more information.
All mail for the affected areas will be delivered where possible. Where this cannot be done residents should arrange redirection which will be done free if requested before 30 March 2011.
Environment Canterbury restarted limited and free Metro bus and ferry services in greater Christchurch today. Eastern suburbs will be serviced by Metrostar, the No.60 Parklands service and the Orbiter. The poor condition of roads is limiting the number of services that can be provided in eastern suburbs.
NiuFM on 104.1 FM and Samoa Capital Radio on 783 AM both carry information for affected Christchurch residents.
