11 March 2014

Free community forum on living with natural hazards

Christchurch City Council is holding a free community forum on Saturday 15 March to explain natural hazards and risks in our changing environment and how we are planning for the future.

Since September 2010, Christchurch residents have become all too familiar with the impact of natural hazards. The recent flooding event reinforces the need to anticipate and respond to a wide range of natural hazards.

Planning now for the long-term, and building resilient communities, is critical to meeting the challenge of our changing environment. The one-day forum on Saturday 15 March aims to help communities understand and respond to these challenges.

Council Chief Planning Officer Mike Theelen says Christchurch needs to anticipate and respond to a wide range of natural hazards including, flooding, sea level rise, liquefaction and land instability in the Port Hills.

“These are complex issues, often described using scientific and statistical terms that can be difficult to understand.

“The forum aims to break down these complexities, giving people the opportunity to hear from, speak with and ask questions of experts in their field, from Council staff to other partner agencies.

“We will be covering the science behind some of the key threats to Christchurch from natural hazards, why the Council has land use rules and Christchurch’s history in relation to natural hazards – its location, the impact of urban development and the stormwater system.”

The Our Changing Environment forum will be held Saturday 15 March from 9.30am–4.30pm at the Salvation Army Hall, 250 Colombo Street, Sydenham. There will be an introductory session followed by two parallel sessions on flooding and land instability. This format will run once in the morning from 9.30am–12.30pm and then again in the afternoon from 1pm–4pm. People can also drop-in anytime to talk about the issues our community faces.

For more information, visit www.ccc.govt.nz/naturalhazards

ENDS

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