Around 10,000 houses will need to be rebuilt

The preliminary figure of around 10,000 houses in Canterbury needing to be rebuilt was provided by the Earthquake Commission’s geotechnical engineers in the first few days after the earthquake on 22 February, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said today.

"This was an early indication of the number of rebuilds likely due to damage caused by the earthquake," Mr Brownlee said.

It was based on projected information obtained from the 4 September earthquake and the significant increase in land damage observed in aerial flyovers after the 22 February earthquake.

Around 3,500 properties already required demolition and rebuilding after the first earthquake on 4 September 2010.

In addition to the properties which need to be rebuilt because of damage caused by liquefaction and lateral spreading, there are also a number of houses which will need to be rebuilt because they have been damaged by very strong shaking from the 22 February earthquake.

The preliminary figure of around 10,000 was not based on the Civil Defence's process of red stickering houses, Mr Brownlee said.

"A red sticker on a house simply means it is presently uninhabitable.

“Our experience to date, and the advice we’re getting, is there will be a number of other people living in houses that are still habitable who after full assessment will find their house is not economic to repair and will need to be rebuilt.

"There are also a number of red stickered houses which are likely to be able to be repaired."