Latest News from the Christchurch earthquake | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

LAST UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 8, 8.20am

Another big aftershock measuring 5.1 has shaken Canterbury this morning after a sleepless night for many residents with at least 10 tremors.

The state of emergency in Christchurch is likely to remain in place today as authorities warn of more to come. Civil Defence has issued a warning that an aftershock of six is possible in the next few days.

The latest aftershock has cut power to some areas of the central city and police are directing traffic in areas where traffic lights have been knocked out.

The aftershock struck at 7.49am while Prime Minister John Key was speaking to residents in rural Canterbury.

Kaiapoi residents who Mr Key chatted with this morning spoke of a strong jolt but Mr Key himself did not appear to feel the shaking.

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The New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) has closed two historic properties in Canterbury due to earthquake damage - Timeball Station in Lyttelton and Coton's Cottage in Hororata.

A state of emergency in Christchurch will remain until Wednesday. It was due to be lifted at midday today, but by extending it to midday Wednesday, the council has more power over access to the central city.

The police cordons for the centre of Christchurch have moved and are now
bounded by Cambridge, Gloucester, Madras and St Asaph Streets. Checkpoints to
gain entry to the city centre are situated at the corner of Glouchester and
Colombo and St Asaph and Colombo. A cordon remains in place on Cranford and
Westminster Street area and police are asking the public not to enter this area due to danger from falling debris.

Cordons may vary depending on the weather conditions and possible
aftershocks. As civil engineers and Urban Search and Rescue teams move
through the city further buildings may be deemed to be at risk. Police ask
the public take due caution around these buildings.

Inspector John Price said safety is paramount:

"Unfortunately it appear as though a small number of people are interfering
with taped off areas and removing safety cones. They are there to ensure
people know what areas still pose a danger. Removal prevents the protection
and safety of everyone."

Five Work and Income offices in Christchurch are confirmed safe and will open today to provide emergency support. They are: Linwood, Hornby, Riccarton, New Brighton and Shirley. Work and Income sites at Papanui, Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Sydenham remain closed, as well as CYF's Torren house.

Around 180 staff worked on water supply and waste water issues on Sunday, including 17 water crews, two wastewater crews and five tankers.

A small staff stayed on through the night working on particularly urgent jobs. So far, around 105 of the 360 jobs recorded relating to water supply and wastewater infrastructure have been resolved.

There are around 60 streets where water mains are still shut off, affecting all or part of the street.  The focus is now on restoring those and improving the overall reliability and pressure in the water supply.

Work is continuing on the outstanding water breaks, while 12 crews will start CCTV inspections of sewer pipes to identify high priority repairs.  Some water and wastewater pump stations are still out of service due to loss of power or significant damage to buildings and plant.

Premises inside the central city cordon area will be assessed by the urban search and rescue teams.

Inspections of premises outside this cordon area are the responsibility of the business owner. Building owners must meet legislative requirements to ensure the safety of people using their buildings.

The overall weather situation has ceased to be a hazard in lowland Canterbury. However, patchy rain expected tomorrow may coincide with rising rivers. Damage to the Waimakariri River stopbanks has reduced flood protection by an estimated 50% but does not pose any concern for the current weather event.

The Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council and Selwyn District Council continue to co-ordinate building assessments in their respective areas. EQC has received 4857 claims for damage to residential properties (as at 6.30 this morning) but are expecting a significant increase in claims over the next couple of days.

Volunteers have come out in their droves across Christchurch and wider Canterbury as the clean-up effort continues following Saturday morning's devastating earthquake.

City council spokeswoman said the many offers were greatly appreciated, and advised people wanting to help in the effort to phone the council's call centre on 941 8999.

"Please use the call centre rather than turning up in person at city facilities. All volunteers will be coordinated from the call centre."

High winds are forecast today – please take care around houses/buildings that may still be unstable.

Access to Christchurch CBD:

Anyone wanting to get access into the centre of Christchurch City will have
to go to one of two checkpoints:

1. The corner of St Asaph and Colombo Streets

or


2. The corner of Colombo and Armagh Streets


No other checkpoints will be allowing access.

Please do not put extra pressure on staff at other checkpoints.

Emergency staff are contacting elderly people to ensure they are looked after.

All schools in Christchurch, Selwyn district and Kaiapoi will be closed for two days under the Civil Defence Act 2002. This will ensure enough time to carry out structural assessments of buildings.

Prime Minister John Key says while people who are insured will get payouts from the Earthquake Commission, there will be a mayoral fund to support those who aren't.

Meanwhile, residents are being warned to treat all chimneys as dangerous until they can be inspected, as damage may be under the roofline and not visible.

Do not light open fires as there is a risk of further aftershocks that could damage chimneys.

The likelihood of aftershocks of up to around Magnitude 6 will remain for the next week. Each time one is felt, drop, cover, and hold on.

Power has been restored to all Christchurch hospitals. Lincoln Maternity Hospital and Burwood Birthing Unit remain closer - women who intended to birth at either should go to Christchurch Women's Hospital.

Buses

The Metro bus network in Christchurch will resume services tomorrow, including services to both the Waimakariri and Selwyn districts.

All Metro services will run to normal weekday timetables, with the exception of routes 51 Tower Junction - New Brighton and 480 Kainga. These services will not operate until further notice.

Passengers should note the following important information:

• Services to the central city will be re-routed in accordance with road closures. Pick-up and drop off locations in the CBD will be limited to Colombo St near Victoria Square and South City for north/south routes. East/west routes will pick-up and drop off at Christchurch Hospital and in St Asaph and Lichfield Streets at stops near the intersection of Madras St.
• No buses will use Bus Exchange Platforms.
• Some services will be required to deviate from their normal routes in outer suburbs due to road and infrastructure damage.

Passengers are asked to be patient as delays can be expected throughout the day. For more information on specific routes or services to your area, please contact Metroinfo 366 88 55.

Rubbish

Rubbish collections will continue as normal in Selwyn and Christchurch City.

The exception is cordoned-off areas in New Brighton where residents are asked to take their bins to the end of the street.Within the Central Business District, a daily bag collection service will be operating outside cordoned-off areas. Residents and businesses within these areas should place bags on nearby streets beyond the cordon.No masonry or other earthquake rubble should be put in the rubbish bins.

 

Welfare centres

A welfare centre is open at the Rolleston Community Centre on Rolleston Dr.

In Christchurch welfare centres are located at Addington Raceway, Linwood College, Brooklyn's Community Centre and Burnside High School, offering shelter and food to residents. Anyone wanting to go to a welfare centre should take their own toiletries and wherever possible also take their own bedding including pillow, blankets and some form of mattress to sleep on (such as a camping mat). The welfare centres will remain open as long as they are needed.

The welfare centres continue to offer support to those who are unable to stay in their own homes.  Linwood welfare centre hosted around 90 people overnight; Addington another 90, and Burnside hosted 20 people.

Building inspections

The Building Evaluation team have assessed about half of the cordoned-off area of the Christchurch CBD.

The road cordons have been lifted in some areas - see below. Others will be lifted as soon as Police and Civil Defence are satisfied that the area is safe.

The buildings which have been assessed have colour-coded notices placed on them to show their status following the earthquake. Commercial buildings in the city are being given a safety status of either Green, Yellow or Red with Red meaning no occupation and Green having no restriction on occupancy.

The assessment teams are advising owners also to engage a structural engineer if they have any doubts about a building. If a second assessment is wanted, building owners are advised to call Council Call Centre and leave details including building number, name and contact details.

The status notices are as follows:

GREEN: Building inspected and no restriction on occupancy based on the inspection. You may still want to get the building checked by a structural engineer.

YELLOW: Restricted Use no entry except on essential business. The advice for the owners of these buildings is to get the building checked by structural engineers. Entry only for essential purposes like damage assessment, making safe or as indicated on the check boxes.

RED: Do not enter or occupy building is seriously damaged and unsafe based on our inspection. This is not a demolition order.The advice for the owners of these buildings is to get the building checked by structural engineers and not to enter or allow entry to the building.

Schools

Schools and early childhood centres in Christchurch, Waimakariri, and Selwyn districts will be closed until at least Wednesday 8 September.

This follows the Chief Medical Officer of Health advising all public buildings are to remain closed until Wednesday.

There is no word of major damage to any schools or early childhood centres yet but the Ministry of Education is working with principals and boards to determine the extent of any damage to other schools.

The University of Canterbury campus is currently secured and closed to staff and students until Monday 13 September.

There has been some structural damage, chemical spills and water damage. There is a substantial amount of broken glass, some treasured specimens and collections have been lost and more than a million books are off their shelves.

Water Supply

Filling stations have been set up to supply water to residents who do not have tap supply at home.

Please bring your own containers (20 litres-plus)

Water is available from tankers at the following locations:

• Locksley Ave / McBratneys Road, Dallington 2 - 3 pm
• Anzac Drive / Birch Street, Bexley 2 - 3 pm

• Palmers Road (Avon River end), New Brighton 4 - 8 pm
• Central New Brighton School, Hawke Street 4 - 8 pm
• Rocking Horse Road (north end), South New Brighton  4 - 8 pm

Coastal areas of Christchurch have been the worst affected by water supply disruptions.

All Christchurch residents are advised to continue to:

• Conserve water
• Boil all drinking water for three minutes
• Be aware that rivers are contaminated
• If you have water supply, it is OK to flush the toilet
• If you do not have water supply, you may have to set up a latrine by using a bucket lined with a bin liner of a plastic bag for solids. This can be buried or flushed at a later time.

KiwiRail has sent almost 300,000 litres of water to Christchurch.

About 15 per cent of the city remains without water, and those with it are being urged to use it sparingly. Any drinking water should be boiled for at least three minutes.

The Fire Service does have sufficient water in most of the city, and have tankers available in the areas currently without water.

Water is available from tankers at Parkview School and the Linwood Welfare Centre at Linwood College. People are asked to take a large container, such as a bucket, to collect the water.

If you live in Rolleston or Tai Tapu the council urges you to reduce all water use.

Currently Tai Tapu sewerage is going into the Halswell River due to the city's network failure and Rolleston's sewerage is overloading the small treatment site that is still operating.

There is a shortage of drinkable water in Waimakariri, mostly Kaiapoi. The Selwyn District has nearly returned to normal in urban centres but is still problematic in rural areas, residents must conserve water and Rolleston's water is contaminated.

Everybody in Canterbury is advised to boil water prior to use and to avoid recreational use of water. The rivers have been affected with sewage.

Electricity

The amount of people without power rose from 3000 to 6000 overnight because of trees hitting lines from high winds. Orion is still hoping to have that number down to 1000 by tonight.

95% of Canterbury has power. Power to parts of the CBD cannot be restored until the point of supply to badly damaged buildings is isolated, to avoid fire risk. Access to some of these damaged buildings has been hampered by rubble, which is slowing the progress.

It may be two to three days before power can be restored to some houses. In
extreme cases, where a single home or business is still without power in an area where power has otherwise been restored, it may take four to five days.

Phones

Christchurch payphones are now free for local, national and mobile calls.

Landlines are working well.

Vodafone and Telecom have sourced back-up generators and diesel in order to restore services as soon as possible. 111 services are fully available. Telecom is still urging its customers to reserve power on its network for emergency calls only.

Roads

The old bridge across the Waimakariri has now reopened. The Ashley River/Rakahuri bridge at Cones Rd is open. The Williams St bridge over the Kaiapoi River remains closed.

Davis Road, Highfield Road and Oesterholts Road are all closed.

There has been significant damage to SH77. It is anticipated that this road will not reopen until Friday 10th September. However, a local road bypass is available via Hororata.

All state highways in and around Christchurch are usable. The major structures including the Lyttelton Tunnel have been assessed for structural integrity and given the all clear. Key bridges on State Highway 1 over the Ashburton and Rakaia Rivers to the south of Christchurch and across the Waimakariri River north of Christchurch are operational.

While the Chaney's Road on Ramp on to State Highway 1 north of Christchurch is closed, this doesn't affect motorway traffic other than that which uses the ramp. State Highway 77 between Methven and Windwhistle in Mid Canterbury is the only state highway currently closed due to earthquake damage. A large slip south of the Rakaia Gorge is currently being cleared and it is anticipated that this road will be open to single lane of traffic by nightfall.

 

 

 

City Roads:

Fendalton: The city bound lane on Harper Ave between Fendalton Rd and Helmores Ln will be closed until further notice due to a substantial crack in the road. City-bound traffic is advised to turn into Deans Ave from Fendalton Rd.

Port Hills: The road from the Sign of the Kiwi to Governor's Bay is also closed because boulders have fallen on to the road.

New Brighton: Anzac Road (North of New Brighton Road) Cracking in Rd, No restrictions. Breezes Road Failures and flooding, Road Closed from Bridge St traffic island to Cuthberts Road. Pages/Breezes/Wairoa Street, Major failures and road closures, Roads Closed Evans Road Major failure, Roads Closed.

South Brighton: Bridge Street Bridge Failure, Bridge Closed.

Cashmere: Dyers Rd, Subsidence, cracking and major failures, Road Closed from Metro Place to Bridge Street traffic island

Bexley: Bexley Road, Flooding and failures, Road Closed from Bridge St traffic island to Pages Road

Rangiora: Lineside Road, Major cracking and embankment settlement. Traffic restriction - inpsection required by OPUS this morning

Dallington: Avonside Drive Major failures and road closures, Roads Closed Stanmore Road to Prestwick. Stanmore Road North Avon Road to Avonside Drive, closed. Medway Flesher Birchfield Ave Kingsford (North of New Brighton Rd) Pavement failures, slumps and holes in road, Restrictions between Avonside Driveand Stanmore Road boundaries, multiple areas of TTM

North Linwood/ Wainoni: Torlesse Road; Kerrs Road; Gayhurst Dallington Bridge. Major pavement failures, Restrictions Woodham Road/Gloucester Street

City: Sherbourne/Edgeware Road Timber building leaning, Restrictions - lane shift in place Bealey Ave/Barbadoes Street Very Large hole, Restrictions - down to one lane Carlton Mill Road Carlton Mill Bridge Wilmer Street Collapsed building Restriction City Wide restrictions Various Road Closed Armagh Street, Madras St, St Asaph, Durham Street Colombo / Mollett Large hole in road, Restrictions End of Medway Footbridge Closed, Bridge Closed

Lyttelton: Empire Hotel Façade collapsing, Restrictions

Halswell: Sabys Road Bridge out Bridge Closed

Little River: Bridge damaged Bridge out

Tai Tapu: Sabys Road Bridge out, Bridge Closed

Selwyn: Selwyn Bridge closed Bridge out, Bridge Closed

Kaiapoi: Old Waimak Bridge Bridge damaged, Closed due to crack growing in souterhn approaches

Spencerville: Spencerville Road Bridge, Bridge Damaged Bridge Closed

Port Hills: Summit Road Failures Road, One lane open

Sydenham: Colombo St, Danger of building collapses Road Closed from Rail Overbridge to Elgin St

Hagley: Harper Avenue, Cracks and slips forming in road Eastbound (city bound) lanes closed at Fendalton Road intersection and Helmores Road

Kaiapoi

 

Curfew will be back in place tonight from 6pm to 7am

Priorities today are to continue work on ensuring the affected areas have water restored. Sewer is still very damaged in some areas and approximately 200 port-a-loos are being placed along streets in Kaiapoi and Pines Beach areas.

The Building Unit, together with Engineers and staff from other local authorities, are continuing the assessment of buildings. The Central Business District of Kaiapoi is still be assessed with approximately 22 buildings still being deemed as too dangerous to enter.

Teams will be moving door to door in residential areas, as well as assessing the district’s School, Halls and Public Buildings to assess damage and health and safety issues. Staff are working towards being able to complete this by the end of this week.

CLOSURES

 

Kaiapoi Pool and Kaiapoi Library/Service Centre and the Kaiapoi Wharf will be closed until further notice. Rangiora Town Hall remains closed. Double Days Road

CLOSED, Access to the motor camp is available by entry under the old waimak bridge and going along the stop bank. Ecan have checked and opened this access point.

OLD WAIMAK BRIDGE CLOSED Paisley Road Closed (unformed legal road runs adjacent to the railway on Lineside Road)Central Business area of Kaiapoi and Williams Street/Hilton Street remains closed

Kaiapoi Central Business District Area is still cordoned off but Countdown is operating to 10pm tonight.

Rubberneckers in Kaiapoi are causing huge issues going through Road Closed signs, causing delays in the fixing and clearing of the areas.

Army and police assistance are in the town and commercial business owners will be contacted by staff and are requested not to try and enter the cordon. Council staff are delivering a pamphlet around Waimakairiri today with information.

All bridges and roads are open, except in the CBD of Kaiapoi, but people are being warned to drive slowly as there are a lot of cracks.

Up to 85% of water has been restored in Kaiapoi. The priority is now in Feldwick, Cass, Sewell and Charles Streets, Raven Quay, Kaiapoi CBD, Courtney Dr, Charters St, where water is expected to return by today. If you do not have water, a portable tanker is at North Kaiapoi School if your have your own container - there is a limited number of water bottles available.

Pines Beach water has been restored, but further breaks make the supply unreliable – we hope to have increased reliability by this afternoon
• Working towards Kairaki Beach – we hope to have water on maybe this afternoon or Tuesday. Significant camp ground damage means, initially, we may connect to just one point for water to be collected from.
• Potable water is available at the Pines Beach Hall.
• Please conserve water and boil it prior to drinking About 50% of sewerage is operating in Kaiapoi. North Kaiapoi feeding to the Beach Rd pump station is operational. The Charles Street pump station has major damage and sewage is being spilled into the Kaiapoi River. The Raven Quay pump station is damaged but being manually pumped.

Residents should treat all surface water on streets in Kaiapoi and properties as contaminated but have been given the all clear to flush toilets.

Sewer – Kaiapoi
• About 50% of sewerage operating - North Kaiapoi feeding to Beach Rd pump station is operational.
• Charles Street pump station has major damage and sewage is being spilled to Kaiapoi River
• Raven Quay pump station damaged but is being manually pumped by sucker trucks.
• Treat all surface water including Kaiapoi River, streams and water ponding on streets and properties as contaminated
• Ok to flush toilets and have a short shower but make limited use please

Sewer – Pines and Kairaki
• No sewer pump stations are working and will take some time to return
• Temporary pumps and Sucker Trucks will pump from sewer mains where possible
• Treat all surface water including Kaiapoi River, streams and water ponding on streets and properties as contaminated
• Ok to flush toilets and have a short shower but make limited use please

Selwyn

Supplies of bottled water are available from West Melton BP and Rolleston Community Centre. The district sewer systems are overloaded due to utilities being damaged so limit showers, doing washing and flushing of toilets. This is especially important in the Rolleston and Tai Tapu areas.

Kirwee, Dunsandel and Edendale water schemes have been reconnected. Electricity to the Tai Tapu, Johnson Road, Jowers Road, West Melton and Prebbleton water schemes are currently being worked on.

 

Water supplies not running: Raven Dr, Armack Dr. All other water supplies are running. SEWERAGE
With regards to sewerage the following applies:
• Rolleston – is expected to be fully operational by Tuesday evening (7 September).
Please try to minimise water use by limited washing of clothes where possible.
All other sewerage systems are working. RURAL WATER SUPPLY
For any rural water supply queries please contact Federated Farmers or Rural Trust. If you cannot reach either of these organisations – please contact the Council as below.

Selwyn roads:

 

Bridges on Davis Road and Osterholts will be unable to be accessed for quite some time. Most of the following roads are passable but extreme care should be exercised.
1. Aylesbury Road, between Wards Road and Grange Road
2. Clintons Road, near Telegraph road
3. Coaltrack Road at Ridgens Road
4. Cordys Road, west of Hororata
5. Courtenay Road, between Clinton Road and Stranges Road
6. Highfield Road, between Midhurst Road and Grange Road
7. Hollands Road, between Ridgens Road and Coaltrack Road
8. Kivers Road
9. Leeston Road, at Ellesmere Bridge – Selwyn River
10. Old Tai Tapu Road, near Osterholts Road
11. River Road, Lincoln Tapu road and Geddes Road
12. Sandy Knolls Road, at Wards Road
13. Telegraph Road , at Clintons Road/Grange Road
14. Hartleys Road
15. Sleemans Road – near Downs Road

 

The port and airport are fully operational.

Rail

• The Picton-Rangiora line is open
• The Belfast-Rangiora line is closed due to extensive damage
• The Christchurch-Belfast line has medium damage - the track has been inspected and is anticipated to open in 36 hours
• Bridge 18 between Kaiapoi and Belfast has suffered extensive damage - structural engineers will make a further assessment today
• The line between Ashburton and Lyttleton is now open at restricted speed
• The Lyttelton-Middleton line is closed and is anticipated to open in 24 hours (structures are being assessed)
• The Rolleston-Cass line is closed and has sustained medium damage and requires further inspection before an estimate opening time can be given

All other lines are open.

Further assistance

If you have any issues or don't know what to do the Earthquake Government Helpline has been activated. It is available all day today then from 7am to 10pm daily. People requiring information on income support, housing options, health issues, community assistance, Civil Defence or any other government service can call this number. 0800 779 997. Refer to this page for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than 2500 people have phoned the department's 24 hour earthquake helpline. The helpline number is 0800 779 997.

Staff are working to call 16,000 elderly people in the area to see if they need help. So far they have reached 10,000.

 

At 12.30pm today, the Red Cross had received pledges of $1.4 million and cash donations of $35,500 for the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.

The Earthquake Commission said they expected claims from at least 100,000 households to cost $1b. The Government has yet to decide if it will help those without insurance.

 

Christchurch City Council's new civic building in Hereford St has also been closed due to internal damage and a detailed structural assessment is underway.

The Department of Conservation is asking people to stay clear of tracks and huts in the Canterbury area, as fallen debris and damaged structures could pose a risk. A number of tracks, including the Pinnacles Hut track, are closed due to damage.