The winter months of June, July and August see average day time temperatures of a high of 12C and a low of 3C (54 and 37F) in the area. But cold frosts and southerly winds from the South Pole can see the temperatures fall to below zero and sometimes there is snow.
For many that means trying to create warmth in houses that were either damaged by the violent shake or inundated with the muddy silt that bubbled up from below the ground. For some it means still trying to find and use portaloos in the streets around them as sewerage systems are still being repaired.
District 9970 Governor Margaret Reeve emphasises Rotarians remain a vital part of a huge effort to restore some sort of normality to life in the province, to help rebuild communities and most importantly to help people work their way through their shock, loss and meeting their day-to-day needs.
Rotary’s efforts are being coordinated as part of the NGO Disaster Relief Forum (NDRF) that swung into action soon after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck on February 22.
Past District Governor Stuart Batty, who lives in Christchurch himself and is director of Rotary New Zealand World Community Service (RNZWCS) Ltd, says the NDRF team has been working together with local authorities and agencies.
“The collective global grunt of the NDRF and members’ international partners means members can offer specialist help from disaster management through to recovery and psychosocial support,” Stuart stresses. “Rotarians have been helping the Salvation Army, for example, to hand out food parcels throughout the suburbs.”
Stuart says Rotarians from throughout New Zealand, Australia and Fiji have also opened their homes and provided warm hospitality to people who just need a break from the stress of living with the aftermath of the earthquake and the ongoing aftershocks. A data search at www.geonet.org.nz shows there were 40 aftershocks in Canterbury between April 1 and early April 8 alone.
Imagine for a moment living with those constant rumblings, fear of more devastation and wanting to keep your family and friends safe...
Stuart is also coordinating Rotary’s Canterbury Earthquake Appeal and says it has reached NZ$850,000. Funds are still arriving from overseas Rotarians. He says one letter and donation from District 2560 Governor Kinya Higashiyama from Niigata, Japan shows the spirit alive in Rotary.
“Mr Higashiyama says Japanese Rotarians wanted to thank us, despite our own troubles, for sending a rescue team to the north-east area of Japan after the earthquake there,” he says. “Enclosed was donation offered he said in the spirit of ‘Building Communities and Bridging Continents’.
“We have launched an appeal for Japan too. Our websites (www.rotarysouthpacific.org and www.rnzwcs.org) tell you what we are doing and how to donate.”
Christchurch update April 8
By Felicity Anderson, Zone 7B Public Image Resource Group Coordinator