28 September 2010
Stronger Christchurch Update

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. Council staff will be visiting homes in the worst-affected areas of the city this week to find talk to them about the issues they are facing and answer their questions.

Since the earthquake, the Council’s call centre has taken more than 97,000 calls from the public. Some of the most commonly asked questions as of today, Tuesday 28 September, are listed below with answers.

Can I get any financial help for repairs if I don’t have insurance and am still living in my home?

The Earthquake Commission only covers homes that have home insurance, however EQC is collecting the details of those who don’t have insurance and passing this on to the relevant authorities who may be able to assist. Visit the website www.eqc.govt.nz or call 0800 326 243.

Other financial assistance is available to residents affected by the earthquake. The Red Cross is administering hardship grants and emergency grants – call 0800 754 726 or visit www.redcross.org.nz.

Assistance is also available from the Christchurch City Council through the Discretionary Response Fund for groups and through the Mayor’s Welfare Fund for individuals and families. Call 941 8999 or visit www.ccc.govt.nz.

My chimney has had further damage due to aftershocks, will the Council help take it down?

The Council is focused on making repairs to city infrastructure and returning water and waste services to parts of the city who still do not have these. Homeowners should make their own arrangements with contractors to carry out non-urgent work on their homes. You can get emergency repairs carried out prior to EQC’s assessment to secure your property, make the property weather tight or fix damaged services such as water and electricity – you do need to have insurance for EQC to cover these repairs.

Has there been any affect on rates for earthquake affected properties?

The due date has been extended for rates payments this quarter, from 15 September to 15 October.

Will earthquake damage be recorded on my LIM?

One of the implications of the Canterbury earthquake - and particularly the occurrence of liquefaction - will be the accuracy of many Land Information Memorandum Reports (LIM Reports) from local authorities around Canterbury. Information that is known to a local authority on the special features or characteristics of the land concerned is required under the Local Government and Meetings Act 1987 to be included in a LIM report. However, a consequence of the Canterbury earthquake is that new information is coming to light regarding areas affected or potentially affected by liquefaction. It could potentially take some time before such information can be gathered, investigated and included in LIM reports.

Why is there a delay in getting my property file?

(Property files, including Land Information Memorandums (LIMs) and Project Information Memorandums (PIMs) hold official information about a property and are often needed when consent is requested for building work or when houses are bought and sold.)

The Council's storage provider Recall suffered some earthquake damage to their facility and they've been dedicating a lot of resource to ensure delivery of property files. The main reason for any delay to LIMs is likely to be receipt of earthquake related information which is unrelated to any Recall issue.

Is my land safe to rebuild/build on and will the Council come and test my land?

EQC is co-ordinating land assessments and is expected to release a report within the next week. This report from Central Government will cover issues about rebuilding across the city.

A significant number of calls are also being received about sewerage issues.

The Council is working with residents to restore full services and is communicating directly with residents whose service has been affected. This includes door-knocking around 500 homes in the worst affected areas of the city this week to gather information about sewerage issues and find out what other problems people are facing so that the Council or other agencies can help. For information on your particular street, contact the Council call centre on 941 8999.

Residents in certain areas of the city are still without functioning sewerage networks and some have been asked to reduce their water usage. Portaloos have been made available in these areas. These people have also been offered alternative facilities for showering.

For more information visit the Council website www.ccc.govt.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media