MEDIA RELEASE

1. Current Situation
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred 10km south-east of Christchurch at 12:51, February 22, 2011. Depth (focal depth): 5km. The National Crisis Management Centre has been activated and a National State of Emergency has been declared.

2. ADRA’s Current Response 150 - 250 people were given breakfast, hot lunch, and hot dinner each day. Community members
continue to enjoy food, water and each other’s company at the Aranui Oasis centre.

Food was initially provided to two Welfare Centres, in Cowles Stadium and Burnside High School. Water, sourced from a bore at Sanitarium was provided to residents who took it home in 10 litre collapsible bladders. An ADRA warehouse has been setup to receive palletised food items from around the country, which are being distributed to an ADRA distribution point set up at the Aranui Seventh- day Adventist church. Aranui is one of the hard hit areas to the North East of the Christchurch Central Business District. Power, water, sewerage systems have all ceased to function. Port-a-loos line the streets, silty liquefaction remnants, and earthquake damaged buildings are all visible reminders that life will not return to normal any time soon.

At the distribution point , in the grounds of the now condemmned Aranui Seventh day Adventist church, there are small tables and chairs dotted around the ADRA caravan. Invitations are extended to local people to visit, have a meal, chat with their neighbours and socialise in a friendly and relaxed out door area looking more like the buffet area on show day rather than a section of town that has been hard hit by mayhem. There is a wide range of personalities sitting at each table but the conversation is along a common thread.

STORY 1 - The elderly lady sits sipping her coffee and has a plate of cereal hardly touched but her conversation with the scruffy gangland prospect, sitting at an adjacent table, with his coloured bandana around his neck and the cool looking shades pushed back over his forehead is intense and both are engaged in serious discussion.

She makes some humerous remark and he grins showing the many gaps in his teeth and the tattoos on his cheeks move enthusiastically up and down but then the mood changes as she starts to talk about her Bichon Freise dog that has been missing for some time and she shows him a small picture as the tears begin to roll unhindered. Mr Gaps touches her shoulder and then he shifts to the seat next to her at her table and after a while he suggests that they put a better picture of the pup on the side of the ADRA caravan as this seems to now be emerging as the local hub.
The tears still roll and Mr Gaps lowers his shades to cover his own eyes.

STORY - 2 At another table Carol is talking about her experiences and says that she is lucky to have found enough space on a friend’s floor to allow her to spread her sleeping bag. Her studies are now on hold as she looks for work along with most of the town and she has not had a hot meal for nearly a week.
“It is just terrific to not have to try to prepare anything for myself” she says as she finishes her plate of rice and stew “Just to be able to come here and sit down with no waiting and watch the sun set in the distance is so refreshing” she continues.

STORY 4 - A local roading gang spend a few hours using the tables as a makeshift site office and share figures with an eager listening audience such as the 20,800 tonnes of silt removed or the man hours this last week topping 4900 and the use of more than 50 loaders and excavators operating with at least 300 tonnes of metal allready trucked into the area.
This “area” is referred by them as “ Zone B” and this covers a precise circle around Aranui itself and the frightening part is that they have covered less than three quarters of the streets.

The Emergency Response Team now consists of 4 staff plus approximately 50 volunteers on hand.

ADRA is continuing to supply drinking water to the Papanui community and surrounding suburbs by accessing the bore water on SHW’s grounds.

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