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Disaster management

In the immediate moments following the quake, rescue and response was offered by ordinary citizens and those emergency services on duty. Although communication was initially difficult, and it took many hours for a full picture of the devastation to be obtained, a full disaster management structure was in place within two hours. National coordination operated from the National Crisis Management Centre bunker in the Beehive in Wellington. Regional emergency operations command was established in the Christchurch Art Gallery, a modern earthquake-proofed building in the centre of the city which had sustained only minor damage. As per the protocols of New Zealand's Coordinated Incident Management System, the Civil Defence became lead agency, supported by New Zealand Police, Fire Service, Defence Force and many other agencies and organisations. One experienced international USAR team member described the response as "the best-organised emergency" he had witnessed.

Christchurch Police were supplemented by staff and resources from around the country, along with a 300-strong contingent of Australian Police, who were sworn in as New Zealand Police on their arrival, bringing the total officers in the city to 1200. Alongside their regular policing duties, Police provided security cordons, organised evacuations, supported search and rescue teams, missing persons and family liaison, and organised media briefings and tours of the affected areas. They also provided forensic analysis and evidence gathering at fatalities,and disaster victim identification (DVI) teams, working closely with pathologists, forensic dentists and scientists, and the coroner at the emergency mortuary established at Burnham Military Camp. They were aided by DVI teams from Australia, UK, Thailand and Israel.

New Zealand Fire Service coordinated search and rescue, particularly the USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) teams from New Zealand and Australia, UK, USA, Japan, Taiwan, China and Singapore, totalling 150 personnel from New Zealand and 429 from overseas. They also responded to fires, serious structural damage reports, and land slips working with structural engineers, seismologists and geologists, as well as construction workers, crane and digger operators and demolition experts.

New Zealand Defence Force - staging their largest operation on New Zealand soil - provided logistics, equipment, transport, airbridges, evacuations, supply and equipment shipments, and support to the agencies, including meals. They assisted the Police with security, and provided humanitarian aid particularly to Lyttleton, which was isolated from the city. Army, Navy and Air Force personnel were all involved, and territorials (Army Reserve) were called up. They were supplemented by 116 members of the Singaporean Army, in New Zealand on exercise at the time of the quake. The Royal Australian Air Force also assisted with air lifts.

St John ambulance provided and coordinated emergency medical response, and triage stations immediately following the quake, as well as medics to support USAR teams. The Canterbury District Health Board coordinated health and medical support across the city, cancelling elective surgery and outpatients, and evacuating existing patients from the hospitals to other centres to increase capacity. They managed primary care facilities (pharmacies and general practice) to ensure city-wide coverage, and organised evacuations from damaged aged care and disabled care facilities to other regions. They were supported by medical staff from around New Zealand, and Australia, particularly the Australian field hospital brought in within days. Public Health issues (such as contamination and infection control) were also managed by the Health Board.

Humanitarian support and welfare were provided by various agencies, in particular the New Zealand Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Welfare Centres and support networks were established throughout the city. Government Departments, such as WINZ and Housing New Zealand established contact with as many people as possible and provided grants and assistance. Many church and community-led projects also became established. The scale of the disaster meant many people went some days without official contact, so neighbourhoods and streets were encouraged to attend to those around them. Offical visitation teams were organised by Civil Defence (when???), with aim of visiting every household; the teams, which assessed homes and welfare needs, and passed on offical information, included structural engineers or assessors from EQC. LandSAR assisted with the patrols.

Businesses and organisations contributed massively to the initial rescue, recovery and emergency infrastructure. Orion, Christchurch's electricity company, assisted by other companies from New Zealand worked constantly to restore power, including the erection of new over head lines to get power into the eastern suburbs; within a week power had been restored to 85% households. Generators were donated, and telephone companies established emergency communications and free calls. Water provision was worked on by companies and contractors, while Fonterra provided milk tankers to bring in water. Waste water and sewerage systems had been severely damaged, so households had to establish emergency latrines. Chemical toilets and portaloos from throughout New Zealand were brought in, with thousands more freighted from Australia and USA. Many companies assisted with transport, particularly Air New Zealand, who put on extra planes and flew passengers for minimal fares, to evacuate persons wanting to leave and bring in rescue and support workers, as well as Christchurch residents returning home.

Fundraising and support efforts were established throughout the country, with many individuals, community groups and companies providing food and services to the city, for welfare and clean up. Many impromptu initiatives gained significant traction. Thousands of people helped with the cleanup efforts - involving the removal of 180,000 tonnes of liquefaction silt - including Canterbury University's Student Volunteer Army (created after the September quake but significantly enlarged) and the Federated Farmers' "Farmy Army". The "Rangiora Earthquake Express" provided water, supplies and thousands of meals from nearby Rangiora by helicopter and truck.

The Government response was immediate and significant, with many departments and ministries involved. Cabinet Minister Gerry Brownlee 's regular portfolios were distributed amongst other cabinet ministers, so he could focus solely on earthquake recovery. After a brief sitting, when a National Emergency was declared, Parliament was suspended so cabinet could work on earthquake recovery. Prime Minister John Key and other ministers regularly visited Christchurch, supporting Christchurch mayor Bob Parker, who was heavily involved in the emergency management and became the face of the city.