Govt welcomes recovery roadmap for Canterbury

Earthquake recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has welcomed today's release of the Earthquake Commission's Stage 2 geotechnical report into land damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake.

"This report gives Canterbury homeowners more information and certainty around the repair process," Mr Brownlee says.

"For the majority of property owners, the recovery process is relatively straightforward and the repair process can start now."

Stage 2 involved mapping 22,500 properties in Canterbury and separating them into three recovery zones: A, B and C. These recovery zones relate only to the extent of land repair required.

Mapping focused on the suburbs and areas that had the most severely affected reported land damage. It is expected other parts of Canterbury will fall into Zones A and B.

"For those in Zones A and B, which means they have no land damage or only minor to moderate land damage, they can start their repair process now, as long as their EQC assessment is complete," Mr Brownlee said.

The report also identifies land repair strategies for the suburbs and areas most affected by land damage – Zone C – and gives indicative timeframes for the recovery process for all claimants.

"Of the 22,500 properties mapped, about 3,300 fall into Zone C, which are the areas most affected by land damage and will require a wide-scale coordinated and strategic approach to repair the land," Mr Brownlee said.

Information packs about the Stage 2 report, including individualised letters, questions and answers, and an EQC fact sheet on the claims process, were yesterday posted to claimants in Canterbury. Letters were sent to all claimants the EQC had postal addresses for in Canterbury who had lodged claims by 19 November 2010.

"These packs contain a lot of useful information for Canterbury homeowners about the recovery process, including indicative timeframes."

Mr Brownlee also urged Cantabrians to ensure they lodge their claims with EQC before the cut-off date of Saturday 4 December.

"It's essential that anyone who thinks their property or house has experienced damage from the earthquake lodge a claim before the cut-off date of this Saturday."

Copies of the information pack posted to claimants, including the letters, the Stage 2 report and related questions and answers are available on EQC's website at www.eqc.govt.nz