The Star: November 17, 2016

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26 Thursday November 17 2016 follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch The Star Viewpoint Responding to quake MONDAY morning’s earthquake brought back memories for all of us. Quakes of this magnitude are difficult for everyone and raise fears of uncertainty. As the reports came in from the worst affected areas, our thoughts went out to the people around the country who were scared, forced out of their homes and often cut off from the rest of the country. For us here in Christchurch, we know all too well the feelings that come after a major disaster like this. The two deaths are a terrible tragedy. We can be thankful that there has not been more widespread loss of life. Partly, this is because of the exemplary response by Civil Defence personnel and the public. Unlike many disasters elsewhere around the world, people paid attention to the warning systems and followed instructions. Our picture of the situation has progressively cleared up as we re-established communications with the North Canterbury communities cut off from both the road and telecommunications networks. Extensive damage to water and sewerage systems are another feature of major earthquakes all too familiar to us here in Christchurch. Kaikoura, in particular, has faced these systems being compromised, the pronounced isolation from help and a major storm bearing down on the region on Monday afternoon. The storm was a particularly cruel blow, given the long drought in the North Canterbury and Marlborough regions. Evacuations from Kaikoura and other effected areas began on Tuesday via RNZAF NH90 helicopters, and the HMNZS Canterbury arrived in Kaikoura on Wednesday. Offers of assistance from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore has been accepted and their militaries are also heading south to Kaikoura. In Wellington, the CBD shut down for checking buildings and train networks. More building checks are needed and some buildings are not in good Gerry Brownlee shape. Many people have been able to come back to the CBD, however, as we attempt to return to normal. From initial checks, it looks like Christchurch has come through the shakes quite well. New standards for buildings and horizontal infrastructure were supposed to make Christchurch’s infrastructure more resilient in shakes like this. This is still early days – but it appears that the designers and contractors have done their job remarkably well. In the days and months ahead, many communities will need the same kind of support that Christchurch has been the benefactor of. The Government is completely committed to providing the response and rebuild needed to restore these communities. Gerry Brownlee is Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration Readers respond to a article on Bill McDaniel, 83, who has been waiting for his Sinclair St, New Brighton home to be completed after work stalled Julie Beadel – This seems very cruel. It doesn’t seem like there is a huge amount of work left to do so surely the builders, Vero and Platinum homes could finish it off and make a huge difference to an elderly couple. Anita Takau – I wish I was in Christchurch I’d drive that lovely man to see his wife every day no charge! How can a pensioner afford that every day – fix his home! Sounds like he’s already got enough stress to deal with. Jackie Wallace – So sad. So many similar cases in Christchurch. Just because they are elderly they still need a home. The elderly should have been sorted years ago. He is lucky he has a daughter he can live with untill it’s sorted. Vero get this sorted. Maybe the family need to have a lawyer involved. Hope this doesn’t drag out much longer. Ann Dark Poor – Dear old Bill is just one of so many people his age and older who are being denied the right to live in the home they own, by insurers with no morals. This is way more than a scandal – it is a serious breach of human rights. Petrea Barker – How can humans do this to each other. For goodness sake . . . face up and give this man and his wife their home back. It’s disgusting to leave them like this. Vero and Platinum Homes shape up. Fiona Chesney – Totally disgusting. While our Government sits and does nothing. It’s just not good enough. Feel for this proud man and so many others like him constantly battling. Makes my blood boil. Jan Johnson – Sometimes we just have to accept our lot in life or rely on family help. The earthquake was a freak of nature. It surprises me that it was not a lot worse. A lot of bankrupt builders in Christchurch. It is a massive task. Enjoy modern Scandinavian design in your bedroom Have the best nights sleep on a Dreamwool Pocket Spring or Natural Latex mattress with 100% natural fillings. No foams, polyester fillings and glue. Enjoy year round superior comfort and support on a flexible slat bed 22 Kennaway Rd • www.dreamwool.com • Ph 343-5105
The Star follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch Thursday November 17 2016 27 Your land. Your people. Your stories. Bought to you by Every Wednesday at 7.30pm on CTV Freeview Channel 40 live and on demand at ctv.co.nz Rising to the challenge Jenny Crozier – This is so disgusting to treat people as second-class citizens. Allison Adams – This is outrageous. C’mon Vero and Platinum Homes. Where is your humanity? Fix this and fix it now. Leandra Cleave – Disgusting poor man what a hassle at this time of life! We said: Were you evacuated? How do you think it went? Tsunami systems will be reviewed by the city council after Monday morning’s evacuation processes were widely criticised. Mrs Frog Stokes – The sirens do not work for deaf people like myself! I have repeatedly said this to Civil Defence, city council and anyone else that will not listen – you need to have a different system for deaf and hard of hearing people. There are plenty of us who live close to the coast and you have done nothing to make it accessible for deaf people. A text-based warning system needs to be established – similar to the text 111 system for deaf people. I do not want to drown or be a statistic in the next tsunami because you did not have a system in place. Cara Negus – Different websites/pages had different advice on who should evacuate. Some said if you live within 1km of sea to evacuate, some said 3km and some said 5km. THIS WEEK’S earthquakes in Kaikoura have been a stark reminder that earthquakes in New Zealand are a fact of life and the threat of them won’t be going away anytime soon. For those of us in Christchurch, watching news and footage of the damage in Wellington and Kaikoura on the news or on social media, it brought back painful memories of our own earthquake experiences. If you’re anything like me there was also a racing heart and a slightly sick feeling in your stomach. However, as a well as a reminder of the initial trauma and uncertainty that comes with a natural disaster, we also saw examples of people coming together and rising to the challenge. Reports of businesses opening their doors to people who had nowhere to go and offering to serve as temporary accommodation, reports of neighbours checking on elderly residents, stories of the lengths people went to contact their friends and loved ones are all reminders of the way our own community looked out for each other. It’s also been amazing to see communities all around Canterbury queuing up to aid those hit by the latest earthquakes. As Cantabrians, we have firsthand experience not just of what people in Kaikoura and the worst hit areas are going through now, but of what is ahead of them – the long march through the EQC and insurance process, the mental health impacts. Something I have often heard from local people is their strong desire that the lessons of the Canterbury quakes be learned for the future – and in the case of this earthquake the future has come much faster than we were expecting. People want to know that what they have been through over the last few years will lead to things being done better in the future. This new earthquake event gives us a real opportunity to put some of these lessons into practice. For me, that needs to start with ensuring EQC does a better job with the thousands of claims likely to come from this event. As we’ve seen in Christchurch with the 10,000 remedial requests and second time repairs, we need to do a much better job ensuring qualified people do the initial scope of works. We also need to ensure there is adequate mental health support available. We’ve learned the hard way that it isn’t just the ground and buildings that can be impacted for years by the trauma of earthquakes. This should especially include support for mental health nurses in schools to help children impacted by the quakes. We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world but we do sit on a fault line and we can’t assume we won’t have more earthquakes in the future. We have a responsibility to be prepared and to ensure people have the support they need and to make sure the hard won lessons from Christchurch are learned for the future. Megan Woods is Labour’s Canterbury spokeswoman > radio control car racing > drone racing > electric grass karts > solar electric cars > electric bike building competition > robotics scrimmage test drive electric vehicles EVO/7500/PRE festival of engineering, sustainability & transpOrtation technoloGies supported by for more info visit / evolocityfestt a&p showgrounds christchurch G0ld coin entrY > 27 NOV 10am —4pm
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The Star: November 17, 2016

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