Kaiapoi - 'what about us?'

BY CLIO FRANCIS AND JOHN HARTEVELT IN CHRISTCHURCH

Emergency services have dealt with a 240 per cent spike in calls for help from earthquake-hit Kaiapoi residents.

Inspector John Price told reporters at a media briefing in Christchurch this afternoon that extra police had been brought in to the district to help.

Police themselves had been hard-hit by Saturday morning's quake with 21 staff having lost their own homes, Price said.

While general crime was not up, there had been a 9 per cent rise in domestic violence offences across the region.

"A lot of people are under a lot of stress at the moment," Price said.

Three days after the massive earthquake, local volunteers are working furiously to help the people of neighbouring town Kaiapoi.

The people of Kaiapoi were dealt a devastating blow when the quake - measuring 7.1 - struck at 4.36am on Saturday, destroying many of their homes.

Long cracks up to two metres deep have appeared in suburban streets, wooden homes have sunk into the earth and manicured gardens have been blanketed in dirt and sand.

Waimakariri MP Clayton Cosgrove is working out of an old red bus in the middle of the town. His electorate office was damaged in the quake and he is not allowed inside.

"Some parts of town look like a warzone. The CBD has taken some big hits."

Locals of the town, which has a population of around ten thousand, had joined together in support of one another since the quake, Mr Cosgrove said.

"The really interesting thing is that, when we've gone round peoples houses to see if they're okay, you go to one and they'll say 'look, don't worry about me' and you'll look up and the house is in bits, but they'll say 'go around and see Mrs whoever next door because she's worse'.

"Which is really pretty amazing, people are being very generous with each other."

At the local fire station, deputy fire chief Dave Ham looks exhausted; the toll of cleaning up the town he has lived in for 20 years is etched on his face.

He and the 28 other volunteer firemen at the station have barely slept since the quake stuck.

Mr Ham lives next door to the station and his own home was badly damaged in the quake.

A crack of about 10 metres snakes its way from the rear of the station to his brick home, which has slid into the muddy earth.

"It's pretty hard," Mr Ham said. "You live in the community, you know the people. Of course the other thing is that all the firefighters have their own houses and a couple of those are going to be write-offs.

"They take the time to come here first and deal with all the problems of others and then they start to look at their own problems later.

"It's hard on the community, it will take a while to rebuild."

Mr Ham said the fire service attended a call-out this morning after a 36-year-old man suffered a heart attack, believed to be related to the stress of the quake.

Resident Sherie Crew, who has lived in Kaiopoi her entire live, said the earthquake had destroyed much of the town.

"The cracks on the other side of Kaiopoi are at least 10 ft deep and two feet wide, the swing bridge is just devastated, a lot of the buildings that we've had here for longer then me are going to be pulled down.

"Lots of iconic buildings are not going to be here any longer.

"We've had earthquakes in the past but this is crazy, this is like something you'd see overseas, its not like anything I've ever seen here."

Across town, on Cass St, the damage is incredible.

The modest cul de sacs are piled high in mud. Well-kept gardens are swamped under piles of the sludge hauled up from beneath the surface during the quake.

In many place the roads have cracked, leaving gaping holes and street lights list sideways at strange angles.

One local man asks when the power will come back.

"I know they are trying their hardest but we're still waiting. I've been listening to the radio and it seems to all be about Christchurch...what about us in Kaiapoi?"

At the local primary school, a Civil Defence welfare shelter is in operation with a team of busy volunteers.

Salvation Army workers pack cardboard boxes with food to be delivered to needy families in the area while Civil Defence workers in yellow vests plan the day ahead.

A hastily erected whiteboard outside the centre says water has been restored to 85 per cent of Kaiapoi. Sewerage has only been restored to 50 per cent of the town.

A car-load of rural volunteer firefighters arrive, they have only had three hours sleep but leap out of the car to help unpack a newly-arrived shipment of bottled water.

"These guys have been doing an amazing job, anyone who criticisises them is crazy," says Cosgrove. 

Across town, in the tiny settlement of Pines Beach, the toll of the earthquake is evident.

The simple beach bachs which line the narrow gravel roads have slumped into the soft earth. Chimneys have toppled on to the ground, leaving cascades of bricks on the grass edges.

In a nearby park, a tree - at least 50 metres tall - lays on it side after its roots were wrenched from the soil during the earthquake.

The road is covered with dirty pools of water after water pipes below burst during the shaking.

"Mate, the things just exploded. The quake shifted them completely, they are all out of whack," a contractor working in the area said.

"We're just in there trying to fix it, its bloody hard work."

Local man Bryan Seatter was walking around his neighbourhood this morning, surveying the damage.

"It's just awful.

"I just feel really, really sad for everyone."

Many of the neighbours were moving out of their homes this morning, Mr Seatter said.

"Everyone has been amazing, you know. I think they're pretty resilient out here.

"It's a heck of a blow, we don't know whether people can move back in or whether they can rebuild their houses, it's a real worry."

- © Fairfax NZ News