Christchurch Earthquake - General Update

Christchurch City Council Media Advisory

Christchurch Earthquake - General Update

6am Monday 6 September 2010

This advisory includes an update on the situation.

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

Today work will continue 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.

Business owners are advised to check their premises for damage and to engage a structural engineer if they are in any doubt about the safety of their building. 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 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

Other advice:

* It is still necessary to boil water before drinking.

* Take particular care around power poles and lines - some of which may have been damaged even though this is not immediately obvious. All lines should be treated as if they are live

* Many offers of assistance have been received from volunteers, and the Emergency Operations Centre is very grateful for the generosity shown by so many people. At present we have sufficient volunteers and are recording details of all new offers for possible future use

* Urban search and rescue teams are now working both within and beyond the cordoned off central city area as they inspect buildings

ends