
The number of emergency psychiatric assessments in Christchurch has more than doubled since the earthquakes struck.
It’s made from plant seeds named for their resemblance to a tick and has been known through history as the ‘golden nectar of nausea’ and the ‘fascist punishment’, among other things. When combined with chlorine, it forms a “a substance … Continue reading →
Norfolk Islanders are seeking UN oversight; Lessons from the Christchurch earthquakes are being applied in Fiji to help heal; The fate of illegally detained asylum seekers in PNG hangs in the balance; Pacific Island nations are urged to be cautious over seabed mining.
A submission produced by the consultancies for the ACENZ Innovate NZ Awards of Excellence 2016, providing details about how the design team supporting SCIRT was formed, and how successful design delivery was achieved.
A guideline to inform designers on the design of an Automated Flushing Siphon System as a means to reduce the frequency of blockages on the wastewater network caused by pipe dips and flat grades.
Worries about the mental health impacts of the Canterbury earthquakes dominated a fiery meeting at Parliament today.
A video of a presentation by Dr Erin Smith during the Community Resilience Stream of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "A Qualitative Study of Paramedic Duty to Treat During Disaster Response".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Disasters place unprecedented demands on emergency medical services and test paramedic personal commitment to the health care profession. Despite this challenge, legal guidelines, professional codes of ethics and ambulance service management guidelines are largely silent on the issue of professional obligations during disasters. They provide little to no guidance on what is expected of paramedics or how they ought to approach their duty to treat in the face of risk. This research explores how paramedics view their duty to treat during disasters. Reasons that may limit or override such a duty are examined. Understanding these issues is important in enabling paramedics to make informed and defensible decisions during disasters. The authors employed qualitative methods to gather Australian paramedic perspectives. Participants' views were analysed and organised according to three emerging themes: the scope of individual paramedic obligations, the role and obligations of ambulance services, and the broader ethical context. Our findings suggest that paramedic decisions around duty to treat will largely depend on their individual perception of risk and competing obligations. A reciprocal obligation is expected of paramedic employers. Ambulance services need to provide their employees with the best current information about risks in order to assist paramedics in making defensible decisions in difficult circumstances. Education plays a key role in providing paramedics with an understanding and appreciation of fundamental professional obligations by focusing attention on both the medical and ethical challenges involved with disaster response. Finally, codes of ethics might be useful, but ultimately paramedic decisions around professional obligations will largely depend on their individual risk assessment, perception of risk, and personal value systems.
A video which describes the history of the bridge and SCIRT's repair methodology.
The grass roots organisations that sprang up after the 2011 Canterbury earthquake are showing little sign of fading away.
A PDF version of the memento book created for those who contributed to the SCIRT programme.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like oysters – they’re slimy, they look weird and they taste like the sea. So perhaps I was affected more than your average person when I recently had the task of analysing … Continue reading →
A video of a presentation by Arihia Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, during the first plenary of the 2015 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Local People Perspective".
A new report has heavily criticised how the Ministry of Education handled the post-earthquake Christchurch school reshuffle nearly four years ago.
The cost of building a home in New Zealand's main cities has risen by 20 per cent since the Canterbury earthquakes.
Repair work on Christchurch's iconic Town Hall, badly damaged in the earthquakes, has nearly hit the halfway mark.
Christchurch businesses are calling on the council to keep the New Brighton pier open while earthquake repairs are completed.
A copy of the award application for the Canterbury Heritage Awards 2016.
A public relations flyer which outlines the repairs undertaken on the Gloucester Street bridge.
A diagram which illustrates the proposed structure of an industry-wide training advisory board.
A video of a presentation by Virginia Murray during the sixth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. Murray is a Consultant in Global Disaster Risk Reduction at Public Health England. The presentation is titled, "Thoughts for Health".
In 1874 this modest two-storey farm house was built on the outskirts of Christchurch. It’s not the sort of house we normally see in Christchurch, in part because of its age, but also because it was built as a farm house, … Continue reading →
Canterbury residents were left confused after the earthquake after the news media reported they needed to evacuate but tsunami sirens were silent.
Karen Brown reports from Chch, where there seems to be no end in sight for the mental health problems caused by the earthquakes
Christchurch businesses are calling on the council to keep the New Brighton pier open while earthquake repairs are completed.
A document which describes the establishment of the SCIRT Women in Construction (SWIC) group and its achievements.
If you've used your eftpos card, caught a bus or taxi, taken a photo on your smartphone or mapped a run or walk then you've probably used GPS - the global positioning system developed by the US military. Christchurch city council is using location technology to keep tabs on the city's rubbish bins. With nearly half a million wheelie bins in circulation, it's hoping to track down 16.000 wheelie bins that are missing following the February 2011 earthquake.
20160415_0029_1D3-24 Red Zone Closures The permanent closure (to motor vehicles) of the Bexley red zone streets has started. This was once the main south-north route just west of the Avon River in the New Brighton area, till an expressway (ring road) was built about 80m to the west (right) about 12-13 years ago. Then it became just another ...
A video of a presentation by Matthew Pratt during the Resilience and Response Stream of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. The presentation is titled, "Investing in Connectedness: Building social capital to save lives and aid recovery".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Traditionally experts have developed plans to prepare communities for disasters. This presentation discusses the importance of relationship-building and social capital in building resilient communities that are both 'prepared' to respond to disaster events, and 'enabled' to lead their own recovery. As a member of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's Community Resilience Team, I will present the work I undertook to catalyse community recovery. I will draw from case studies of initiatives that have built community connectedness, community capacity, and provided new opportunities for social cohesion and neighbourhood planning. I will compare three case studies that highlight how social capital can aid recovery. Investment in relationships is crucial to aid preparedness and recovery.
A backpackers with pod-styled units has opened near Christchurch Airport as the city continues to struggle with budget accommodation following the 2011 earthquake.
A document which describes the purpose of the Bill Perry Safety Awards and outlines each winning submission.