Canterbury earthquake Friday update
Released 25 Feb 2011
It is time for farmers to make a big contribution to the clean up of Christchurch by way of skilled labour. Farmers have now been allocated a sector of the city to clean up so head to the A+P Showgrounds and be there between 6.30am -8.00am. Please be patient by either calling back or using email by clicking here.
0800 FARMING (0800 327 646) is open over the weekend
Federated Farmers 0800 line is manned over the weekend during business hours to provide a link between members and the logistics team in Wellington.
Farmers start the clean up of Christchurch tomorrow - our chance to help
Christchurch City Council is now advising that the areas of focus in the coming days are not yet able to handle heavier vehicles. The immediate call is for skilled labour to start the clean up by hand so there is need to also bring shovels and wheel barrows. While specialised equipment is not needed yet, there is the space to park these at the A+P Showgrounds.
Key information for Saturday 26 February 2011
Registrations: 6.30 - 8.00am
Location: A+P Showgrounds, Curletts Road, Christchurch
Equipment needed: Wheel barrows and shovels
Larger passenger vehicles including 4WD, Trailers
Suitable clothing and personal protection equipment (eg gumboots essential with sunscreen, gloves, face masks etc))
Packed lunch and bottled water
Accommodation: Camping facilities are available on site (including showers and water),
People will have to be self sufficient for obvious reasons so tents, sleeping bags, toiletries, first aid kits are a must.
Federated Farmers wishes to publicly acknowledge Silver Fern Farms and Tegel Foods for donating food, NZ Safety for the donation of safety vests and Rabobank for its assistance. CRT is further supplying five 4x6 Tents to assist with accommodation.
With fresh water
Deliveries have continued today by Fonterra and independent contractors. Federated Farmers is aware of enthusiastic farmers driving water tankers into Christchurch off their own back. Federated Farmers recognises the huge desire of the rural community to assist the city's urban residents, but uncoordinated, this may lead to disruption. As a consequence, Federated Farmers wants anyone looking to bring water tankers into the city to first consult with Christchurch City Council and/or Civil Defence Logistics:
Christchurch City Council
Carol Clark 027 505 3847 (carol.clark-ccc@live.com)
Civil Defence Logistics
Fiona Nichol 027 605 0087 (cdem.logistics@gmail.com)
With shelter and accommodation
Federated Farmers has again brought to the attention of authorities that more than 1,000 beds, complete with power, clean running water and cooking facilities, are available less than 30 minutes from Christchurch.
Given the closure of one relief centre due to medical concerns, Housing NZ, which is now the lead agency, has been in contact with the Federation several times today. This remains a work in progress but volunteers should be on stand-by over the weekend as accommodation remains a moveable feast.
If members can accommodate evacuees, then please feed this through to 0800 FARMNG (0800 327 646) or email by clicking here.
Fundraising for victims of the 2011 earthquake
Federated Farmers is currently in discussions with the Meat Industry Association to provide a means for the Federated Farmers Adverse Events Trust to swing into action. Please be patient as we develop a comprehensive solution for farmers t make a tangible donation from throughout the country.
Fuel update
Port of Lyttelton hopes to resume some operations tomorrow (Saturday 26 February) starting with fuel and essential supplies.
The Port states there is no need for the public to stockpile fuel as the reopening of the BP distribution terminal means fuel is being sent to service stations around the city. It also says it will have wharves operational to receive essential supplies from tomorrow and has already released medical supplies.
Also, the petrol retailers Caltex, BP, Shell and Mobil will maintain their convoy of trucks bringing regular petrol and diesel deliveries into the region from Timaru to cope with the high demand for fuel. Caltex spokesperson Sharon Buckland told Federated Farmers there had been a fresh crew of five truck drivers flown to the South Island to replace tired drivers on the fuel convoy between Timaru and Christchurch.
For a list of stations and truck stops, please click here.
Supermarkets
Both Progressive Enterprises, which operate Countdown, Woolworths, Super Value and Fresh Choice supermarkets and Foodstuffs, which has the New World, Pak'n'Save and Four Square franchises, say their operations are still disrupted following the earthquake.
As well as delivery problems, reduced staffing levels in stores and distribution centres has been a challenge. Bread availability is limited across the South Island. This is due to high demand and affected deliveries of perishable items.
Despite this, both companies say there is no need to panic buy supplies as they expect consistent supplies to resume in the next 24 hours and have plenty of access to staple food items. You can find a list of supermarkets and other services by clicking here.
Electricity
Orion continues to work under Civil Defence instructions in terms of priorities for the restoration of power to Christchurch
- By this evening, it hopes to have restored power to 78 percent, or 8,000 additional connections since yesterday
- There are still small pockets across the city unconnected as a result of more significant faults. It is working as hard as possible to restore power to these customers
- Because the network is fragile, inevitably there will be small unexpected outages from time to time in areas reconnected
- A number of large generators are scheduled to arrive today and tomorrow. They will be deployed in the northern Brighton and Mt Pleasant/Richmond Hill areas, mainly supporting individual loads such as pumping stations and other critical infrastructure
- It will take some weeks to restore power to the remaining 42,000 consumers in the CBD, Sumner, Brighton and Dallington and surrounding areas
- Power remains off to two of its 51 zone substations and we have substantial damage to some of our 66kV cables and to some 11kV cables
- To help repair some 66kV underground faults, specialists are arriving from Australia and equipment is scheduled to arrive from Germany next week
- At the 11kV level, it is working to fix approximately 60 cable faults. A large mobile cable repair vehicle is now on its way from the North Island, complete with a team of specialist repairers
- Good progress has been made on the 66kV overhead line to supply Brighton substation from the Transpower Bromley substation. Leaflets are being delivered to nearby residents this afternoon and work will start tomorrow
- Teams have been deployed today to begin property-by-property damage assessments in Redcliffs, Sumner and Mt Pleasant. The first step to plan the restoration of power to these areas. Significant seismic damage exists right across these areas
Important messages to consumers
Orion asks customers to be patient as it has many urgent priorities at this time If power has been off, please unplug sensitive appliances at the wall and make sure the stove is also turned off
- If you are leaving your home for some time, then please turn the power off at the main switch before you leave
- Stay clear of any fallen power lines.
Detailed work plan
The overall strategy is to restore the network moving west to east across the city CBD:
- Orion is awaiting direction from Police and Civil Defence regarding when its staff can enter the area to assess damage and determine which parts of the CBD it can safely restore power to
- New Brighton and surrounds:
- Both 66kV cables supplying Brighton zone substation have failed as a result of significant land movement in the area
- Brighton zone substation is damaged as a result of medium level liquefaction
- External transformers and coolers suffered serious liquefaction
- To secure power supplies to this area, Orion will be starting a new overhead line tomorrow from the Bromley grid exit point to the Brighton zone substation
- It will also install a new external transformer on site
- A generator has been installed in the northern Brighton area to supplement power supply.
- Dallington and surrounds:
- Both 66kV cables supplying Dallington zone substation have failed as a result of significant land movement in the area
- Dallington and Brighton substations are interconnected, so the overhead line solution for securing power supply to Brighton also applies to Dallington
- Orion is continuing to locate and fix faults in damaged lower voltage cables (mainly 11kV) in the Dallington area.
- Mt Pleasant to Sumner (all areas east of Ferrymead bridge):
- It has observed seismic damage to many properties and buildings in this area. A number of our smaller substations have been hit by rock falls, wall failures etc
- Property inspection has begun
- Arrangements being made for generators to be installed.
Please see map below for a graphical representation:
Postal services
All New Zealand Post and Express Couriers operations in Christchurch will remain suspended until Monday 28 February 2011, when they will be further reviewed.
- Find out which PostShops/box lobbies are currently open by clicking here
- Find out which Kiwibank banking services and ATM's are currently working by clicking here
- Find out what Courier Post delivery services are available by clicking here
Telecommunications
Overall the Telecom network is up and working and all Telecom exchanges are operational with a combination of mains and generated power, as are the majority of mobile sites.
It recommends people in Christchurch continue to minimise the use of mobile phones and to use text messages instead of calls whenever possible to free up the network for emergency response workers. However, as the network is now predominantly up and stable people should use their phones for important calls.
260 payphones and three wifi hotspots (Telecom Riccarton Mall, Café Zero (Cashmere Rd), and the Westpac Centre (Addington)) continue to be available for people in Christchurch to use for free.
Telecom customers in Christchurch can have their landline number diverted to another number for free. To do this, residential customers can call us on 120 and business customers can call us on 125.
A relief package from Telecom Wholesale is enabling other telecommunications retailers to support their affected home and business customers as well.
Census 2011
The Census due to be held on March 8 has be postponed due to the earthquake.
Government earthquake helpline
The Government's helpline is 0800 779 997. The Earthquake Commission can be contacted on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243).
Red Cross helpline including missing persons
If you are concerned about the wellbeing of friends and relatives in Christchurch, you should call 0800 REDCROSS (0800 733 276).
Road closures
Environment Canterbury is trying to update its list of closed roads in Christchurch twice daily on its Christchurch Earthquake website.
Schools
All schools and education facilities remain closed in the quake affected zone unless you have been notified otherwise.
Health advice
Healthline is a free 24/7 telephone health information service provided by the Ministry of Health and includes mental health. The service is staffed by registered nurses who are able assess health needs before giving information or advice to help you decide on the best level of care. Telephone 0800 611 116 (24/7).
Water and sanitation
Members in the quake affected zone are reminded to boil all water and to restrict use of toilets if on town supply water and to check septic systems if not.
Federated Farmers Christchurch office is closed until further notice
Federated Farmers Christchurch office is closed due to damage until further notice. Any meetings scheduled for the office have had to be cancelled.
For general information, please contact:
0800 FARMING (0800 327 646)
Federated Farmers earthquake spokesperson:
John Hartnell
Phone: 03 349 5590
Mobile: 021 578 754
For contacts in North Canterbury:
Neil Stott
Federated Farmers North Canterbury provincial president
Phone: 03 318 8577
Mobile: 027 355 4636
Pam Richardson
Federated Farmers Banks Peninsula branch chairperson
Phone: 03 304 6825
Mobile: 027 447 8551
Murray Rowlands
Federated Farmers North Canterbury Grain & Seeds chairperson
Phone: 03 317 9401
Mobile (text please): 027 242 9542
Kieran Stone
Federated Farmers North Canterbury Dairy chairperson
Mobile: 027 558 8917
Dugald McLean
Federated Farmers North Canterbury Meat & Fibre chairperson
Phone: 03 313 5442
Graeme Albon
Federated Farmers Bees committee member
Phone: 021 025 20328
Vicky O'Connor
Federated Farmers Field Officer
Phone: 027 432 0218
