Ministry support following the Canterbury Earthquakes

Following the Canterbury earthquake events in September 2010, February 2011 and June 2011 and subsequent aftershocks the Ministry has assisted in the response and recovery of Canterbury by:

  • assisting in the development of the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act (CERRA 2010) and Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act (CER Act 2011)
  • preparing Orders in Council under CERRA 2010 and CER Act 2011 to streamline or amend Resource Management Act processes
  • inputting into the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), in particular in the preparation of the Recovery Strategy released by CERA
  • carrying out research, including commissioning the Canterbury Fact Finding Project.

Canterbury Fact Finding Project report

Hill Young Cooper and the Resource Management Group

The Ministry commissioned the Canterbury Fact Finding Project report to look at the information on liquefaction and lateral spreading hazards that was known, available and factored into the zoning and development process in parts of Canterbury that were severely impacted by liquefaction and lateral spreading.

The areas covered by the study, and the time period it relates to, are as follows:

  • Eastern suburbs of Christchurch along the Avon River (1977 to 22 February 2011)
  • Brooklands, Kaiapoi, and Kairaki/The Pines (1977 to 4 September 2010).

The report identifies that while there was known generic information on liquefaction and lateral spreading available during the study period, for most of the period under review specific information on liquefaction and lateral spreading risk was limited in its availability and was not specifically factored into zoning and consenting decisions.

The report (with some detailed map layers and interviewee lists removed) can be viewed in two documents:

This report has been prepared by independent consultants on behalf of the Minister for the Environment. Neither the Minister, the Ministry for the Environment nor the Crown accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever (whether in contract, tort, equity or otherwise) for the accuracy of the contents of this report or any action taken by any person who chooses to rely on information contained in the report.

Changes to legislation in response to the Canterbury earthquakes

Changes to legislation have been made in response to the Canterbury earthquakes, including Orders in Council made under the CER Act 2011 and CERRA 2010.

Details about other changes to legislation in response to the earthquake can be found on CERA’s website.

 

Last updated: 7 October 2011