Recovery Assistance Centre to Be Established as District Lifts Emergency Status

A Recovery Assistance Centre is being established in the quake ravaged town of Kaiapoi as the district lifts its state of emergency and moves into recovery mode. The centre will offer support to members of the community affected by the earthquake that has left more than 100 homes uninhabitable and at least three hundred others badly damaged.

Waimakariri Mayor Ron Keating says the centre will play a critical role in supporting residents as they try to get back on with their lives.

“The shake has clearly taken its toll on our community and we can feel very proud of the way our community has pulled together to help each other through this testing time, which is not over yet.

“Not only is there months of work ahead of us to reinstate crumbled infrastructure, but as a community we also need to be conscious of the tough times ahead for the dozens of residents who still have to deal with the loss of their homes. We will all need to do what we can to support them through it.”

The Recovery Assistance Centre will open in the Kaiapoi Community Centre at 24 Sewell Street on Monday September 20th, and will open Monday-Friday 9am – 4:30pm.

The Welfare Centre at the Kaiapoi Rugby Football Clubrooms will continue to operate through this coming weekend.

For the first week the Recovery Assistance Centre will also operate as a one-stop shop where we will provide general wellbeing support, and where residents can access support from a variety of key organisations including; WINZ, Housing New Zealand, Department of Labour and Inland Revenue.

Kaiapoi Community Support will be continuing to provide assistance with food and we will have people on hand who can provide support as needed.

The Council will also be establishing a temporary Service Centre offering limited services at the Community Centre. Library books may be returned to the Kaiapoi Library book drop off box in the conservatory area of the library building at Raven Quay, while the council explores options for resuming a full library service.

It will take months, and in some cases years to return services in Kaiapoi township and The Pines and Kairaki Beach to the state they were in before the earthquake hit.

Mayor Keating says residents can feel assured the council is working as hard as it can to make this happen.

“Our staff and contractors have had little rest over the past fortnight, battling to restore water, sewer and roading to the area and ensuring the necessary welfare support to our residents.

“Even though the ‘emergency’ itself is over there is still a lot to be done, and we would ask the community to be patient with us as we get on with the business of rebuilding. The journey to recovery has only just begun, and it will be a long one.”

Mayor Keating has been “personally humbled by the way people outside the district rallied to our aid, and of the tireless efforts by our own staff and contractors in the aftermath of the quake.”

He acknowledges Waimakariri is going to continue to need outside help and is encouraged by the on-going support and commitment from the Government, other councils and aid organisations.

But he says it is time now for the community to also accept “much of the responsibility for getting our own lives back on track now lies with us. “

We also remind residents of Kaiapoi and Pines Beach/Kairaki that the boil water notice remains in place. We have had a second sample return a positive result for E-Coli so it is important to not take any risks and boil water before drinking, brushing teeth and using in cooking.

ENDS

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