Civil Defence earthquake response 'superb' - minister

When the big quake hit Canterbury at 4:36am yesterday, the first click of the civil defence response was activated from deep within the bowels of the Beehive.

''Quite quickly we know the size, location and depth of the earthquake and that starts the activation process for the national crisis management centre,'' Civil Defence director John Hamilton said

''At the same time, the facilities that are run by councils and regional civil defence authorities are kicking in  as they did in this case.''

From inside the pokey Beehive bunker, officials started talking with their local counterparts to get a picture of the damage.

''And through that conversation with them, the national level can provide extra support and assets or equipment,'' Hamilton said.

''We're also managing the messages for the public and the reassurances as to what's happened and what might happen next.''

The confused response to the Pacific tsunami last year shook some peoples' faith in civil defence. But Hamilton and Civil Defence minister John Carter were yesterday satisfied they got it right this time.

''It's actually been superb in my view. The response has been exactly what you'd expect,'' Carter said.

He came in and out of meetings and conference calls in the bunker all morning to update the waiting media on every turn, which he said was an important way of calming panicked people.

New Zealand's four Urban Search and Rescue Teams converged on Christchurch with dogs searching over the rubble for anyone who might have been left trapped below  dead or alive.

By the early afternoon, Hamilton said the Beehive bunker had a pretty good picture of the things Canterbury most needed. Police deputy commissioner Rob Pope filed out of the bunker before Hamilton emerged to talk with the Star Times.

''The conversations continue all the time and as they identify issues that they can't cover off themselves, so we attempt to provide assistance,'' Hamilton said.

There had been early offers of assistance from overseas, but they probably wouldn't be needed, Hamilton said.

''But it's good to know that people are not only aware of what's happened here but they're also willing to give us a hand,'' he said.

''It's gone extremely well. The challenge we're going to face now, is how are we going to get through tonight and what are the likely needs for the next few days? And the further we get away we get out of the immediate shock, the needs are going to increase because people are going to identify how vulnerable or short they are of immediate supplies. In this case, it's probably going to start with water, followed by adequate shelter and we'll work it from there.''

There had been no tsunami warning because the quake did not cause significant movement under the sea-bed. As he left the bunker to board a flight to Christchurch, Carter repeated that he was pleased with the response. ''We've put a lot of time into these things and it's pleasing to see that now what you'd expect to happen is happening.''

- © Fairfax NZ News