The following update was sent to MCC by Neil H., Worship Leader at CRAVE MCC, Christchurch
Today the death toll still stands at 166 souls. The focus has shifted from a recovery of life, to a search for the dead who still remain in the buildings of the inner city of Christchurch. There is also a house by house search spreading through the suburbs which will take many days as homes have collapsed and it is unsure how many people may lie within them.
The cordons within the central city have been reduced, resulting in a gridlock of traffic of inner city residents trying to recover belonging, citizens hoping to recover vehicles which were abandoned and businesses trying to recover computers and any stock that can be accessed. I am on the edge of the Red zone (the complete no-go area) and at present have a fence across one end of the street, and a demolition crew taking a large building down at the other end. There is a small alleyway which I am able to get down from a side street which I am grateful for. There is still concern for the 27 story Hotel Grand Chancellor which is leaning due to the foundations dropping over a metre in one corner of the building, and also other multi-level buildings which are also leaning as well. It is thought that is the Grand Chancellor falls it will cause as much shaking as the Feb 22nd quake in the area that I live in and come down on a full city block. I look out my bedroom window at it after each aftershock just to check!
There is a huge push in the construction of small porta-cabins to provide accommodation for the homes which have been red-stickered. As Autumn approaches and the weather cools this is becoming more important as some residents are living in car-garages, tents and homes which are not weather tight. Campervans and motor homes are also being used as accommodation for many people and two areas have been identified to set up temporary villages. There are a couple of suburbs which may not be allowed to be built on as the land will be too difficult to remediate, and so some hard decisions on who this will affect, and where new suburbs can be safely developed will be made over the next few weeks. The historic buildings which cannot safely be entered will be demolished, which includes the majority of our main street in the centre of town.
Water and sewage is still a key issue and over 30,000 chemical toilets and 2,500 porta-loos being distributed around the city as they arrive. Water continues to come and go, and diesel generators and being placed around town to support the fragile electricity network. A generator is planned for our street due to the damage to the local transformer.
Over 60,000 people have fled the city and wonderful support is being given to them from local towns and communities. The MCC community is coping well, we have managed a grocery run for as many as we are able, which took several hours due to the difficulties in traffic flow and damage to streets. The eastern suburbs now have three supermarkets open, although around four are too damaged to re-open and assessments on a further three are still awaiting. Welfare centres are open for people access emergency services including counselling services. The Nancy Ave Worship centre seems intact from the outside, however has yet to be inspected properly. We continue to hold gatherings at the home of Marion Wilson (worship leader) to keep our community in contact. There are some difficulties with roads and lack of public transport for some to get around, but people are keeping in touch through cell phones and email.
Around 6,000 people have been identified as having lost jobs due to damage to workplaces and as the reality of the situation and inability to get businesses running due to the loss of infrastructure the number of unemployed will rise significantly.
Most days we have several aftershocks with many in the low to mid 4’s on the Richter Scale. This is causing ongoing stress to most people and we are all on an emotional roller coaster.
To the ongoing messages of support, we all give a huge amount of thanks. If people would like to donate to the earthquake relief you can either donate online to the NZ Red Cross through their website, or make a payment to the CRAVE MCC Christchurch bank account details of which can be found on our website www.cravemcc.com/christchurch
Money being donated directly to CRAVE MC Christchurch is being used to provide emergency groceries, pay for transport, emergency repairs to homes and other support requirements that are otherwise not available.