Fact Sheet to help newcomers in Christchurch affected by the Earthquake

(Source: Settlement Support and Immigration New Zealand)

In stressful situations new migrants and other newcomers can find it really hard - they may not have the friends or family support that most of us automatically turn to.

This fact sheet tells you about services and support available in Christchurch to recover from the Canterbury earthquake. Please call the following number if you need urgent support.

The central Government Earthquake Help Line number is 0800 779 997

Settlement Support New Zealand can provide additional support for people who have recently moved to Christchurch and who are unsure where to go or who to speak with.

IF YOU ARE A RECENT MIGRANT OR NEWLY ARRIVED IN CHRISTCHURCH AND NEED SUPPORT AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE YOU CAN CALL SETTLEMENT SUPPORT NEW ZEALAND FREE ON:
0800 776948 (0800 SSNZ4U) BETWEEN 7.00am -10.00pm
OR EMAIL settlementinformation@dol.govt.nz

YOU ARE NOT ALONE AT THIS TIME.
WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH SUPPORT, ADVICE, AND LINK YOU TO SERVICES THAT YOU NEED. WE CAN ALSO GET HELP IN YOUR LANGUAGE IF YOU WANT IT.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

ESSENTIAL CONTACTS
Public telephones across the city are free for local, national, and mobile telephone calls.
Call 111 in the case of an emergency.

Call Earthquake Government Help Line - 0800 779 997 for information about all government services and support.

Missing persons: Please call 0800 733 276 (0800 RED CROSS) if you are concerned about the wellbeing of friends and relatives in Christchurch.

There is also a website to register missing or found people: http://christchurch-2011.person-finder.appspot.com

People outside of New Zealand can call +64 7 8502199

Call the Earthquake Commission (EQC) - 0800 326 243 (0800 DAMAGE) for information on EQC’s insurance cover, cleaning up and making a claim.

Call Christchurch City Council customer services - 03 941 8999 for assessment of major structural damage to your home or business premises or for help with essential council services such as water supply or sewage disposal.

CIVIL DEFENCE ADVICE FOR RESIDENTS
For regular updates contact: www.canterburyearthquake.org.nz

• Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, drop, cover, and hold on.>
• Help those around you if you can and look after neighbours friends and family.
• Only go to the hospital if absolutely essential. For other injuries, contact your nearest after hours medical centre.

People are asked to avoid all non-essential travel. We recommend that people stay home, no work or school for 3 days following the earthquake and please keep travel to absolute minimum.

WATER
Damage to the water supply system means there will not be enough water to meet demand in the coming days.

• If it rains, residents are asked to collect water in buckets if possible. 2
• Residents are advised to conserve water. Do not shower, take baths, or flush your toilet.
• Boil drinking water for three minutes.
• Portable toilets will be available – however this may take some time.

Drinking water is available from these primary schools by 11am:

• Redcliffs
• Phillipstown
• South New Brighton
• Shirley
• Wainoni
• Lyttelton Main

Please bring your own containers to fill up.

LISTEN TO THE RADIO FOR ADVICE, INFORMATION AND REGULAR UPDATES.
WELFARE CENTRES

The following centres are for those that need urgent emergency assistance following the Canterbury earthquake. They can supply you with blankets, food, and sanitation.

Pioneer Stadium. 75 Lyttelton Street, Spreydon
A map is available from here: View Map

Cowles Stadium. 210 -220 Pages Road, Wainoni
A map is available from here: View Map

Burnside High School, 151 Greers Road, Burnside
A map is available from here: View Map

Civil Defence will attempt to open more centres throughout the day.

ACCOMMODATION

• Burnside School,
• Papanui High School,
• Lyttelton Recreation Centre,
• Brooklands Community Centre,
• Akaroa Senior School is open.

HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL CENTRES
HEALTHLINE (24 HOURS): 0800 611 116 3

The service is staffed by registered nurses who will assess your health needs, and give information and advice to help you decide on the best level of care.

Medical resources are being deployed and activated to manage the number of injured. Christchurch hospital is operational. DO NOT GO to A & E (accident and emergency) at the hospital unless absolutely essential.

For other injuries, contact your nearest after hours medical centre. The 24 hour surgery on Bealey Avenue is open.

Emergency triage centres for the injured are operating at Latimer Square, Canterbury University and the Sanitarium Building in Papanui.

Hospitals in other areas are prepared to receive patients if required.

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
Department of Labour – If you have questions about your employment and how it’s been impacted by earthquake events you can get information at www.dol.govt.nz. If you have specific questions about expectations of you, your employer, or an employment issue you can call 0800 209 020.

Immigration NZ - Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ’s) visa processing centre in Crystal Plaza in Cathedral Square is closed until further notice following Tuesday’s earthquake. People whose visas are about to expire should call the INZ contact centre (0508 55 88 55) for advice as to where to send their applications. People whose passports are being held by INZ in Christchurch pending extension of a visitor visa or other visa and who now wish to leave New Zealand should call the contact centre.

SSNZ (Settlement Support New Zealand) - If you are a recent migrant or newly arrived in Christchurch and need support after the Earthquake you can call Settlement Support New Zealand FREE on: 0800 776948 (0800 SSNZ4U) between 7.00am-10.00pm or email settlementinformation@dol.govt.nz. We will provide you with support, advice, and link you to services that you need. We can also get help in your language if you want it.

Working for Families - If your income has dropped and you have children, you may want to check if you qualify for Working for Families payments. Working for Families includes tax credits, an accommodation supplement and childcare assistance.

To find out more, go to www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz, or call 0800 227 773 for more about tax credits, or 0800 774 004 for more on the accommodation supplement and childcare assistance.
Inland Revenue - If you have trouble making child support payments please call Inland Revenue on 0800 221 221. If your income has changed because of the earthquake you may need to re-estimate your income to adjust the amount of child support you pay.

Housing New Zealand – If you are a Housing New Zealand tenant and you have any concerns at all, you can call Housing New Zealand anytime on 0800 801 601 or you can call into either the Linwood or Papanui Neighbourhood Units.

If you are not a Housing New Zealand tenant and need assistance with temporary housing, phone the Government helpline on 0800 779 997.

ACC - If you have any questions regarding current injury claims you may have with ACC, please contact us on 0800 101 996.

Education – The Ministry of Education has a helpline that will be available until 8:00pm - Phone 0800 225 580. Updates are also available from their website: http://www.minedu.govt.nz/.

OTHER SERVICES
Counselling and Support – If you need support or counselling services, you can call Right Service Right Time on 0800 777 846.

Refugee Services Aotearoa – If you need to contact Refugee Services you can call the Christchurch Office, which is operational, on 03 3390483. If no one answers, you can leave a message and someone will respond to your call as soon as possible.

Postal services - Mail and courier deliveries are suspended for at least two days for the Christchurch metropolitan area but other areas serviced by the Christchurch mail centre will also be affected. The mail centre's closure will affect mail deliveries to other parts of the South Island while alternative sorting arrangements are made. PostShops are closed for staff to attend to their families and for buildings to be checked for damage. Damage has been reported in several PostShops. Check for updates www.nzpost.co.nz.

Phone services - Power has been cut to cell sites so many mobile phone users are without coverage. Do not overload phone lines with non-essential calls. Civil Defence is asking for the public to keep cellphone use to a minimum, especially voice and data. If you must use your cellphone, text. Christchurch's 111 service has been diverted to Wellington, but network damage, overloading and power blackouts could affect connections. Telecom says payphones in the Christchurch area will be free to use.

Roading - The NZ Transport Agency has closed Lyttelton Tunnel. Damage and rubble have closed many roads in the city. NZTA asks motorists to make essential trips only. State highways are open but the Chaneys on-ramp to State Highway 1 north of Christchurch is closed.

Plunket - Plunket New Zealand says Christchurch families concerned about their child's health or wellbeing should call 0800 933 922.

Business helpline - Information for business owners call 0800 42 49 46

VISITORS TO CHRISTCHURCH
Any visitors to Christchurch who want to leave the city should make their way to collection points at the Burnside High School welfare centre, corner of Memorial Avenue and Greers Road or the welfare centre at North Hagley Park.

You can also call Christchurch International Airport - 0800 568 369 for information about travel, tourism and accommodation.

Christchurch earthquake help information

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has occurred 10km south-east of Christchurch at 12:51, February 22, 2011. Depth (focal depth): 5km.

Here are some resources to help keep in touch, ask for assistance, or provide information.

Canterbury Earthquake website - for the latest news and updates

Person Finder - to connect people who are reported missing

Twitter users: use the #eqnzcontact hashtag to locate friends and family. @safeinchch is for news on people who are safe.

Use the Government helpline 0800 779997 for earthquake assistance as 111 is currently overloaded.

View the Christchurch Quake Map for earthquake and aftershock occurence.

Disaster struck

You will truly never know when a disaster will hit.

Last Saturday, we woke up to a sunny morning. Winter weekends can be such a drag so when we see the sun up and about on a Saturday, spending the time outdoors is almost inevitable. Sure enough, we received a phone call from a family friend inviting us to soak up some sun in the park. My wife thought about our other friends and proceeded to ring them up. That's when we learned that there was a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Christchurch at around 4:30AM!

We immediately tuned in to the news and saw the destruction. It was surreal, seeing those photos about an earthquake that happened in the South Island, so close to where we are and yet outside it's a shining as if it was another ordinary day.

Not so for the people in Christchurch... but it's a miracle that no one was killed.



This disaster has jolted us back to reality that an earthquake can happen when we expect it the least, and that we need to prepare for it by:
- allocating provisions of food, water and shelter
- having a disaster coordination plan in place in the family and with friends.

This disaster also reminded me of the major earthquake in Baguio City whose 20th anniversary was "celebrated" last June and frankly it's something I would rather not experience again.  But prepare we must.

My wife has allocated some foodstuffs and water, and we are currently on the lookout for a good tent just in case. And a portable stove.

Incidentally, New Zealand has a website that provides useful information in disaster preparedness. The Get Thru website also includes a checklist of things we need and to cope with a disaster for up to 3 days. There's information that not only people here in New Zealand but also in other countries can make use of.

Photo credit: Stuff.co.nz. View other photos and news in the Stuff.co.nz website

Surviving the July 16 earthquake

Today is Cordillera Day. I was in Baguio last weekend and we dropped by SM to watch the latest Harry Potter flick but when we saw the looong line, we shrugged off the idea and shopped instead. There was a program showcasing native dances from the different regions of the Cordilleras. It's good that they have this to remind us of our proud heritage. Did you know that in the 70s there was an annual celebration by the locals called the Grand Cañao? It was held in the Burnham Park soccer field. There would be dancing and pigs and cows slaughtered, with the participants given a hefty slice of meat! Gone are the days...

But I digress.

Incidentally, today is also the anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Baguio City and other regions in 1990. 17 years... has it been that long? I can still vividly remember that time when I was in college. There was a strike, forcing SLU to suspend classes. The library, among other offices, had to be kept operational and so we were asked to report for work. I was working my way through college as a library assistant then. We held office in the Basement of the 6-floor Fr. Ghisleen de Vos Library Bldg.

So there we were, around 4 of us, typing and writing the time away when we felt a jolt. We paused and everyone looked at the ceiling. It was quite strong but when it gradually slowed down, we continued with our work. And then just as sudden, the ground began to shake sideways! The sound was a deep bass that sounded like a machine grinding stone, combined with bookshelves falling one on top of the other like dominoes and books flying everywhere. Our shouts cannot be heard on top of this noise as we ran to the medical library adjacent to our office. The exit was so near us but when we were already a few steps from it, the roof collapsed! We held on to the nearest post and saw tables and chairs being crushed by the collapsing shelves.

After what seemed like hours, it finally subsided and we ran to the exit and shouted for help. People nearby heard our call and helped us over the debris. We went to the open space in front of the SLU Hospital and huddled together with grade school and high school kids as people and ambulance ran to and from the hospital bearing the wounded. There was crying and shouting everywhere. It was like you were watching something from a movie. We felt numb.

It was Daylight Savings Time. It was the first and last time ever that DST was implemented in the country and to some extent, I think the grade and high schools suffered less casualty than it would have because students left an hour early. If the multi-floored schools were fully-occupied at that time, I couldn't imagine what would have happened.

We walked down Session Road later that afternoon. It was like a ghost town. The wind felt eerily cold. Everybody had to walk home; we lived in San Vicente in Kennon Road at that time. Where there was once a winding cemented road, there was instead a muddy hill.

Those times were truly unforgettable. We walked from home to town to buy supplies from stores that had to close and keep just one window open with people scrambling to buy whatever they can. We received periodical relief goods. We listened to the AM Radio and candles lit our nights, with the aftershocks keeping us on our feet. Dead people's feet sticking out of makeshift tents in morgues out in the streets. Media frenzy told stories of outbreaks.

Looking back, I feel blessed to have survived the earthquake, and to have my family. Some were not so fortunate. While such calamities cannot be avoided, I pray in memory of July 16.

Photo credit and related link: Baguio Earthquake by the Hawaiian Webmaster

Surviving the July 16 earthquake

Today is Cordillera Day. I was in Baguio last weekend and we dropped by SM to watch the latest Harry Potter flick but when we saw the looong line, we shrugged off the idea and shopped instead. There was a program showcasing native dances from the different regions of the Cordilleras. It's good that they have this to remind us of our proud heritage. Did you know that in the 70s there was an annual celebration by the locals called the Grand Cañao? It was held in the Burnham Park soccer field. There would be dancing and pigs and cows slaughtered, with the participants given a hefty slice of meat! Gone are the days...

But I digress.

Incidentally, today is also the anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Baguio City and other regions in 1990. 17 years... has it been that long? I can still vividly remember that time when I was in college. There was a strike, forcing SLU to suspend classes. The library, among other offices, had to be kept operational and so we were asked to report for work. I was working my way through college as a library assistant then. We held office in the Basement of the 6-floor Fr. Ghisleen de Vos Library Bldg.

So there we were, around 4 of us, typing and writing the time away when we felt a jolt. We paused and everyone looked at the ceiling. It was quite strong but when it gradually slowed down, we continued with our work. And then just as sudden, the ground began to shake sideways! The sound was a deep bass that sounded like a machine grinding stone, combined with bookshelves falling one on top of the other like dominoes and books flying everywhere. Our shouts cannot be heard on top of this noise as we ran to the medical library adjacent to our office. The exit was so near us but when we were already a few steps from it, the roof collapsed! We held on to the nearest post and saw tables and chairs being crushed by the collapsing shelves.

After what seemed like hours, it finally subsided and we ran to the exit and shouted for help. People nearby heard our call and helped us over the debris. We went to the open space in front of the SLU Hospital and huddled together with grade school and high school kids as people and ambulance ran to and from the hospital bearing the wounded. There was crying and shouting everywhere. It was like you were watching something from a movie. We felt numb.

It was Daylight Savings Time. It was the first and last time ever that DST was implemented in the country and to some extent, I think the grade and high schools suffered less casualty than it would have because students left an hour early. If the multi-floored schools were fully-occupied at that time, I couldn't imagine what would have happened.

We walked down Session Road later that afternoon. It was like a ghost town. The wind felt eerily cold. Everybody had to walk home; we lived in San Vicente in Kennon Road at that time. Where there was once a winding cemented road, there was instead a muddy hill.

Those times were truly unforgettable. We walked from home to town to buy supplies from stores that had to close and keep just one window open with people scrambling to buy whatever they can. We received periodical relief goods. We listened to the AM Radio and candles lit our nights, with the aftershocks keeping us on our feet. The feet of the dead sticking out of makeshift tents in morgues out in the streets. Media frenzy told stories of outbreaks.

Looking back, I feel blessed to have survived the earthquake with my family safe and sound. Many were not so fortunate. While such calamities cannot be avoided, I pray in memory of July 16.

Photo credit and related link: Baguio Earthquake by the Hawaiian Webmaster