EQC UPDATE
KEEPING YOU INFORMED | 26 NOVEMBER 2016
Kaikoura – a very different earthquake
Remedial
work in
Canterbury
remains a
priority
Remedial work in Canterbury will continue
largely unaffected by the recent Kaikoura
earthquakes, EQC’s General Manager Customer
and Claims Trish Keith says.
Photo courtesy of Tonkin + Taylor
Photo courtesy of Tonkin + Taylor
By Dr Richard Smith (PHD Geological
Sciences), Manager Research Strategy and
Investment, EQC
Since the Kaikoura Earthquake almost
two weeks ago there has been a lot of
comparison to the Canterbury
Earthquake sequence.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck
at 12.02 am on Monday 14 November
caused severe damage and disruption in
North Canterbury and Marlborough, major
disruption in Wellington and was felt around
the country.
But the earthquake has behaved quite
differently to the Canterbury earthquake
sequence – most noticeably causing
landslides rather than liquefaction due to the
different geology of the areas affected.
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Support?
EQC is working with a
number of government
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Other distinguishing features have been the
number of faults affected across a significant
distance. The earthquake started about
15km northeast of Culverden, then broke
along a series of faults northeast towards the
coast south of Kaikoura, then along several
more faults along the coast towards Cape
Campbell at the northeastern corner of the
South Island. Current science assessments
show at least six on-land faults have moved,
and recent seafloor mapping by NIWA has
identified movement on at least one offshore
fault southeast of Cape Campbell.
The ground shaking near the fault rupture
was considered severe. While Christchurch
is closer to the epicentre, the peak ground
accelerations (PGA) were less than 0.1g
compared to 2.2g in the February 2011
Christchurch earthquake. That’s because
the fault rupturing from the epicentre
directed the energy northwards away from
Christchurch, causing the earthquake to be
felt more strongly in Wellington where
PGAs exceeded 0.2g in some parts. This
was similar to that experienced during the
Cook Strait sequence (earthquakes of M6.6),
however the duration of shaking was around
four times longer.
As well as the fault ruptures, the seabed
being lifted and landslides, GeoNet’s global
positioning sensors show the land has moved
across the country. The earthquake has
shifted Cape Campbell 2m closer to the
North Island and raised it vertically by almost
1m. Kaikoura has moved to the northeast by
nearly a metre, and has been lifted by 0.7m.
All of this happened in a matter of seconds.
Of interest, in the lower North Island, the
east coast has shifted west by one to five
centimetres, while the Wellington and Kapiti
regions were shunted two to six centimetres
to the north. Christchurch and Banks
Peninsula are now approximately two
centimetres further south, and some parts
of the South Island’s west coast have shifted
east by up to ten centimetres.
“EQC is keeping its focus on remedial and other
repair work in Canterbury, despite the need to also
start planning for settling claims from the Kaikoura
earthquakes,” Mrs Keith says.
Under its new structure for 2017, EQC will manage
general remedial repairs in-house. Fletcher EQR staff
will continue to focus on sub-floor repair work.
Repairs will be carried out by contractors that have
already worked for the Canterbury Home Repair
Programme (CHRP) and are familiar with EQC’s
systems and quality expectations.
In August, EQC streamlined its process for handling
new remedial repairs by giving customers the
opportunity to state their preference for either a cash
settlement or a managed repair. The change in the
process, based on customer feedback, enables EQC
to resolve claims more quickly for customers.
Early indications are that customers value the
opportunity to state a preference, with around 50 to
60 percent of customers with new remedial requests
opting for a cash settlement.
As of the end of October, EQC had about 5,000
outstanding remedial requests and expects this to
reduce to around 3,500 by the end of the year.
“Completing the remedial work in 2017 is an
important aspect of how EQC will operate. The new
structure is also designed to enable us to scale up to
deal with a new event, such as Kaikoura.
“We are currently in the planning phase of how we will
do that. Our response will draw on the lessons from
the Canterbury earthquakes and how we have been
settling the Valentine’s Day earthquake claims.”
Civil Defence
Temporary Accommodation
If you live in a rural area
Civil Defence is coordinating assistance to
communities affected by the Kaikoura Earthquake.
If you need temporary accommodation:
To lodge a request for help on the farm or to
make offers to help, contact Federated Farmers
on 0800 FARMING
For questions about roading, water and
wastewater, civil defence centres or recovery
assistance centres, contact the local civil defence
team at your council.
• Hurunui District Council:
03 314 8816, www.hurunui.govt.nz
• Kaikoura District Council:
03 319 5026, www.kaikoura.govt.nz
• Marlborough District Council:
03 520 7400, www.malborough.govt.nz
You can also visit Emergency Management
Canterbury (www.cdemcanterbury.govt.nz) or
Get Ready/Get Thru (www.getthru.govt.nz)
Earthquake Commission
To enquire or lodge claims following damage to
homes, contents and residential land
Call 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243), 7am–9pm
Monday to Friday and 8am–6pm Saturday
www.eqc.govt.nz/claims
• Call 0800 673 227
• www.temporaryaccommodation.mbie.govt.nz
• or email [email protected]
Financial Assistance
If you need help to support yourself or your
family or would like more information on
how Work and Income can help call Work and
Income’s Government Helpline 0800 779 997,
open 7am–9pm, seven days a week
www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/
emergencies/earthquake-nov-2016.html
Stress counselling and
support, and health
• Earthquake Support Line: 0800 777 846
• Kidsline: 0800 54 37 54 (24/7),
www.kidsline.org.nz
• Youthline: 0800 376 633, Free TXT 234,
www.youthline.co.nz
• Healthline: 0800 611 116, open 24 hours
a day, seven days a week
Talk to your accountant, bank and WINZ
to see what assistance you may be eligible for.
Contact your local Rural Support Trust on
0800 RURAL HELP for a private and confidential
conversation.
Other Useful Contacts
• Red Cross: 0800 733 2767,
www.redcross.org.nz
• Citizens Advice Bureau: www.cab.org.nz
• GeoNet: www.geonet.org.nz
• NZ Transport Agency: 0800 44 44 49,
www.nzta.govt.nz
• IRD: 0800 775 247, www.ird.govt.nz
• ACC Claims: 0800 101 996, www.acc.co.nz
CONTACT EQC AT 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243) OR VISIT WWW.EQC.GOVT.NZ