Kaiapoi resents rubber-neckers
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Waimakariri District Mayor Ron Keating says Kaiapoi may close off its roads this weekend, to stop ''macabre'' tourists descending on the ruined community.
People were exhausted and could not cope with tourists driving around taking photos of their condemned homes, he said.
Nearly 400 Kaiapoi, Pines Beach and Kairaki homes are categorised unsafe. The town is also losing one of its two supermarkets, its iconic department store Blackwells, the museum and its 104-year-old Post Office, as demolition begins today.
''The rubber-neckers are just driving everyone crazy. They just drive out of Christchurch. They just came off the motorway and last Sunday they were chocka. It's macabre, and they were bumper to bumper and unfortunately we weren't ready for it,'' Mr Keating said.
This weekend, the police and army may have to control all four entries into the town, ''just to let people get on with their lives''.
''They walk up the drive and take photos of the damage on the houses, just mindless things. No sensitivity to the feelings of the people who can see their house is badly damaged, (and) may have to be demolished.
Everyone was tired and worried and the rubberneckers were making them feel ''dispirited'', he said.
''Normally I'm pretty laid back, but there's moments when I've come close to losing my cool.''
Nevertheless, Kaiapoi residents were ''staggeringly'' resilient in the small community of 12,000, Mr Keating said.
They had also been buoyed by the arrival of ''several hundred'' students and boy racers, offering to help the clean up this week.
''They came out in old cars... they had wheelbarrows and shovels and it's lifted the spirits - not only because they're there, but they've cleaned up the streets.... the place is already looking tidier.
The township of 12,000 had been hit hard in the past by the closure of the freezing works and the famous Kaiapoi woollen mills, he said.
''They were huge employers and yet the town survived.''
The town had been in a ''growth phase'', with plans to revitalise the centre and promote it as a tourist destination as it was one of the few settlements with a river running through it.
''Little did we know, a large part of our town centre would be devastated.''
While today's demolition was heartbreaking, Mr Keating said it was also an opportunity.
''We now have, despite the tragedy of the whole thing, a new opportunity for us to redevelop the town in probably a way we could never have done.''
Engineers believe that a new subdivision badly damaged in the quake may be entirely demolished and rebuilt with new foundations and stabilised land, which was good news, he said.
More good news was that engineers may be able to erect temporary sewerage pipes above the ground, which could be built in a matter of weeks - rather than waiting for a year as he had earlier been told.
''It will require some pump stations and some clever engineering solutions, but we believe that we will get the sewerage (system) back on.''
Kaiapoi's water system was almost restored.
''Kaiapoi has this ability to look after itself and support each other. The town will come again, just as it has done in the past, against the odds.''
Meanwhile, the Waimakariri District Council estimates the cost of repairs to the Waimakariri region could range from $67 million to $120 million, to replace community buildings, utilities, road and footpath repairs.
Chief executive Jim Palmer said repairing parks and buildings alone, including the library, was likely to cost about $7.6m, to be met by insurers, the council and Government funding. It was not clear how the bill would be split.
Repair of roads - which cannot be insured - could cost from $25m to $35m but the Government had signalled it would meet up to 90 percent of that.
- NZPA
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@Daniel: Fair criticism, but I don't think you are right about the contradiction. Having people come and stare at your damaged homes when you are still trying to deal with it is insensitive. It is equally insensitive to not realise that the rubberneckers **might** be doing so out of grief.
But still, if it is ok to want to do something, that doesn't make it ok to actually go and do it.
As for the logical reason for why people are being upset, let me just check this with you: you want a **logical** reason for people being **emotional**, yeah? If so, you'll be waiting a really long time.
People are getting upset because they are people. In particular people who have been through a hellish time.
My "take it easy on each other" was a condensed way of saying "the rubber-neckers (well, some of them) and the Kaiapoi residents are suffering PTSD. It is important for both sides to bear this in mind when dealing with your emotions. It is important to try to remember that you are all suffering, and in this situation people need to pull together, respect one another, and be a little tolerant of abnormal actions (this includes the people of Kaiapoi dealing with the rubberneckers).
In particular in this forum, where people have the grace of extra time to think before typing, just take things a little easy." Perhaps just think of the story of the little girls (http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch/4119607/Police-praise-childrens-selfless-act).
People's anger is justified on the basis of all this. But we can all still choose our response to this.
But because I have been criticised for being overly verbose, I figured I would cut it down to a snippet. :-)
Does this help clarify my perspective?
Gravey of comment #21 contradicts himself in his final sentence. And I still have yet to hear a rational reason why people are getting upset over this.
To everyone who says the people in Kaiapoi should get over themselves I would say this: It **is** upsetting some people, and they are expressing how upset they are. Get over it.
It is human interest to **want** to go and gawp. It is human insensitivity to go and do it.
If you have a legitimate reason to be there, then fine. If not, then consider whether you need to go, whether you would serve yourself, your family and others by staying away.
And everyone needs to remember that you are all going through an extremely disturbing time. There is going to be a whole heap of post-traumatic stress symptoms in the coming weeks. Take it easy on each other.
I live in Kaiapoi and have heard no one apart from the mayor make the comment re rubber neckers, sooo maybe instead of people jumping in with heaps of vitriolic comments they take a breath and remember we all just been through a traumatic event and just maybe nerves are a tad raw
Just back from Kaiapoi - since they were making such a fuss I thought I would leave my own ruined house in Chch and go and see what was up..............
Man, I agree, people need to get over themselves. What harm are the rubberneckers doing? This is an issue which is effecting all of us in Chch and absolutely people be allowed to see what's going on. In fact, I'm going to go for a drive now :) I'm really interested to see the power of the earthquake first hand, seeing as much of the destruction happened just down the road
Im sure that the so called "rubber neckers" are just as shocked and confused like most of the folks from Kaiapoi with the damage done caused by mother nature or "Act of God" . It is human nature to be curious at such an event. I would doubt that any rubber neckers would be sitting in their cars laughing at others misfortune , after all it affects the whole country in the end. Who is to say that because of what some of these rubber neckers see that they dont go in and make a donation to help the neady or even grab a barrow and shovel and go back to help. stand at the entrance ways with tins and ask for a donation to go in and see,., Kaiapoi ,, ya might be surprised !!
I can't believe how self-righteous and small minded people in Kaiapoi must be. It's not like these rubber neckers know them personally, do they think they're laughing at them or something? it's only natural people will want to see first-hand the effects of a natural disaster, so what's the problem? why worry about it? it all seems very childish to me.
Get used to it. It's a free country and public highways are just that.
I lived on the beach and got fed up with people rubber necking at me when I was in the front garden - but that is just life.
Sorry, but there we are. Where does it stop? Can I go to Chch to look but not Kaiapoi? I donated $100 to the earthquake fund - so am I not allowed to come and see what happened?
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I have spent alot of time in Kaiapoi over the years altough a christchurch resident and it is upsetting to see it so broken. My thoughts are with everybody there and best wishes for as faster recovery as possible