Welfare centres become home | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

QWINNALL NGANGAHA says she does not want to move from the Linwood College welfare centre, which has been her home for the last three nights.

She is among a number of Christchurch residents who have sought refuge at one of the Civil Defence welfare centres in the city after Saturday's devastating earthquake.

Ms Ngangaha, who is nearly five months pregnant, walked from her Avonside property with her 17-month-old daughter Hilda-Rose Light to the Linwood centre on Sunday morning amid concerns her house was unsafe after her ceiling had "collapsed".

However, the centre is only meant to offer relief for one night, with the Addington Welfare Centre set up to cater for longer stays.

But Ms Ngangaha said she did not want to leave the Linwood centre, as it was closer to her home and she was unsure how she would get there.

She said Housing New Zealand would assess her house over the next few days, but until then she did not know if or when she would be able to return to her home.

She said she thought she would be at the centre for at least two weeks.

Civil Defence supervisor Geert van de Vorstenbosch said the Linwood centre had 115 people on Monday night and was full to capacity but expected numbers could climb with buildings being weakened further by ongoing aftershocks.

However, the number of people they could house was limited by their staffing levels, he said.

Some people in the crowded welfare centres are now asking what will happen to them long-term if they can't return to their earthquake-shattered homes.

The evacuees were coping well but some were getting restless.

"It's day four and some are starting to ask what is going to happen in the long term."

Christchurch's Addington Raceway building has been turned into a temporary welfare shelter for victims of the earthquake, with about 60 people being housed there yesterday.

That number was predicted to rise to about 100 last night as people returned to sleep, while an influx of up to 60 were expected from another welfare centre at the city's Burnside High School that has been closed down due to safety concerns.

- Additional reporting, Andrew Koubaridis and Jarrod Booker