From the Councils
The earthquake caused enormous damage to the infrastructure and assets of the Kaikōura, Hurunui, Marlborough District Councils.
The Kaikōura, Hurunui, Marlborough District Councils are small compared to urban New Zealand councils; Kaikōura and Hurunui particularly have small rates bases and a small staff complement. Kaikōura and Hurunui Districts were considered the worst affected regions and suffered the bulk of the damage. The earthquake caused enormous damage to their infrastructure and assets of the three councils. It placed tremendous strain on staff, themselves affected by the earthquake, as they rallied to support their communities.
Environment Canterbury is the regional council for the Canterbury region that the Kaikōura and Hurunui District Councils sit within. As the regional council, Environment Canterbury provided support for recovery activities, while recognising the need for a local, on-the-ground recovery effort. The Kaikōura harbour comes under the jurisdiction of the Harbourmaster’s Office, run by Environment Canterbury. In-house specialists in other areas, such as on-farm recovery works, consents, river engineering, waste disposal and landside dams have worked alongside colleagues in the district councils as they developed and implemented their recovery plans.