Monday, 15 February 2016

Earthquake update

Christchurch City Council is today checking Council-owned facilities for damage following yesterday's magnitude-5.7 earthquake.

At this time, the only Council facilities closed are:

· New Brighton Library, which is scheduled to open at 1pm today.

· Linwood Library (at Eastgate Shopping Centre), which is closed for light-fitting repairs.

Christchurch Botanic Gardens, including the Ilex and Duck Duck cafés, are open. New Brighton Pier and Pages Road Bridge are also both open and undergoing visual inspections.

Further checks at Council facilities will take place throughout today. In most cases, any reports of damage have been very minor.

The Council's Heritage Team and engineers are currently inspecting Council heritage facilities, including the Bridge of Remembrance. So far, no significant damage has been discovered at any Council heritage facilities. A number were already closed for repair, so pose no safety risk to the public.

No issues have been discovered following initial inspections of stopbanks. Council staff will be double-checking during high tide at around midday today.

The Council is reminding residents and commercial property owners that they are responsible for carrying out safety checks to their own buildings and properties. However, people can contact the Council (03 941 8999) if they are concerned that a particular building is dangerous.

Residents affected by liquefaction on their properties are advised to take appropriate safety precautions when handling the material, including wearing protective eyewear, dust masks and gloves.

Small quantities of liquefaction can be placed into the red rubbish bin, to a maximum level of one-third of the bin.

The Student Volunteer Army is assisting residents with liquefaction clean-up. They can be contacted via email – info@sva.org.nz – or through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StudentVolunteerArmy

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