Warning over burnout during cleanup

People working around the clock to fix damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake need to make sure they don't burn themselves out in the process, a top Palmerston North Civil Defence officer has warned.

Emergency Management officer Jock Robinson was one of three Palmerston North City Council staff who went to the Ministry of Civil Defence bunker in Wellington after the 7.1 quake rocked Canterbury on Saturday morning.

Mr Robinson, who worked two 12-hour shifts himself on Sunday and Monday following the quake, said his job was to research how to ensure resources, such as generators, got to Canterbury should they need them.

He also collated all offers of supplies from organisations and businesses throughout New Zealand.

"We were looking ahead and just doing a bit of background into what we foresee Canterbury will need," he said.

Mr Robinson praised the efforts of Civil Defence teams on the ground, but said the psychological and social effects on people would need to be addressed in coming weeks.

"It's amazing how much they are dealing with. I think the big thing is the medium to long-term effects that it will have on personnel working there and the community itself," he said.

Many people are running on adrenaline, but there is a danger of "burnout" once the initial work was complete.

"It's just the realisation of the enormity that some members of the community will feel later on when they realise their homes can't be rebuilt straightaway because they can't get a builder," he said.

Also sent to Christchurch on Saturday morning were two Iroquois helicopters and 14 personnel from the Ohakea Air Force Base, including Flight Lieutenant Rob Cato of 3 Squadron.

Mr Cato said the helicopters flew five reconnaissance missions over Christchurch and surrounding districts, including taking Christchurch mayor Bob Parker up to get an overview of the damage.

"We were doing [fly overs] of houses and the community in the outlying areas so the people knew what was going on there and so they were aware of the risks."

The aftershocks had been "particularly noticeable", he said.

"People notice them and are a little bit on edge. They seem to come in groups. We are aware that some of them are quite significant [but] they are nothing like what happened on Saturday."

Also working hard to clear rubble and assist the community are seven Palmerston North firefighters who have joined colleagues in Christchurch.

Manawatu Assistant Fire Area Commander Rodger Calder said they were "flat out" assisting Civil Defence staff and doing assessments in Christchurch and surrounding districts.

Christchurch residents will soon have 450 green buckets, left over from a world record attempt to get thousands of "Bucketheads" at the Manawatu Turbos rugby match on Saturday.

Events Manager Mark Long said residents could use the buckets, which were supplied by ITM Building supplies, to carry water.

The buckets were couriered to Christchurch's Addington Raceway yesterday. Further quake coverage, page 5

- © Fairfax NZ News