Helplines, donations, blood donations, Red Cross enquiries

Government help line:
Call the Ministry of Social Development's Government help line 0800 779 997 for information about all government services and support.

Donations - please give cash not goods
People wanting to contribute to the response are encouraged to contribute financially ONLY. (No donations of goods or services at this time please).

Cash donations to:
Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.nz/donate
Salvation Army: 0800 53 00 00 (Specify that your donation is for the ‘Canterbury Earthquake Appeal’)

Any ANZ Bank branch: Account number 01-1839-0188939-00
Any National Bank branch: Account number 06-0869-0548507-00
Any Westpac Bank branch: Account number 03-0207-0617331-00
Any ASB Bank branch: Account number 12-3205-0146808-00
Any BNZ Bank branch: Account number 02-0500-0982004-000
Any Kiwibank branch: Account number: 38-9009-0759479-00

In addition, a Mayoral Fund has been set up to accept donations to Chritstchurch citizens at the following BNZ bank account: 02-0800-084958-000

Blood Donations
NZ Blood has announced that the Christchurch Blood Donor Centre will be closed until further notice. They have good supplies of blood in Christchurch and have supplies they can bring in from other centres. At this stage blood stock are fine, but if the situation changesthey will inform people via their website (www.nzblood.co.nz) or via Facebook.

Red Cross Person Enquiry Line now activated
The New Zealand Red Cross Person Enquiry Line is now activated.

People in New Zealand concerned about the wellbeing of friends and relatives in Christchurch should call 0800 REDCROSS (0800 733 276).

If you are unable to contact a friend or relative in the Christchurch area, call the Red Cross Person Enquiry Line. Red Cross will be able to tell you if they have registered with Civil Defence. People are encouraged to do this before reporting friends and relatives missing.

People enquiring from outside New Zealand should call +64 7 850 2199

You can also email the Red Cross on nzrcneoc@redcross.org.nz

Haiti

I haven't posted anything on the disaster in Haiti - it's all over the news still, and is really rather awful and depressing. Once again the value of a reasonable building code is highlighted. Haiti didn't have one. The level of aid mustered for this disaster is heartening, but some of the issues of coordination are not. There are lesson to be learned from it, unfortunately at someone's expense, as usual in these events.

If you feel the need to help, please donate money (not goods) through a reputable agency.

A busy day...

My diary for yesterday was really quite full - radio checks, Regional Welfare Advisory Group meeting in the Hutt Valley, talking to householders in Aberfeldy St about emergency preparedness - pretty solidly booked. But a bit after 7.30 this morning my phone beeped and came up with the message - Tsunami Warning - threat to New Zealand. Eeep!

I didn't make it to a single meeting.

We actually took it pretty seriously in Porirua. Given the non-event, we probably over-reacted, but the controller & I decided we would do exactly the same thing if it happened again. It was an invaluable learning exercise for our team - with all the focus of an actual, life-threatening situation (even if no lives were actually in danger here - except for some idiot surfers in Titahi Bay perhaps). It highlighted the gaps that need to be remedied, and increased our profile with the businesses and facilities in low lying areas that we contacted. I couldn't have designed a better exercise or PR campaign if I tried! Exercising just isn't the same - there's no sense of urgency, even if you are trying to play in real time, it can all be a bit amorphous and airy-fairy. But this was real people in real time, with real concerns of impending doom. Makes such a difference.

I should keep track of how many times I've been woken up by the National Warning System. This definitely isn't the first or even second time it's happened.

I apologise if I sound a bit flippant about it, but we are truly saddened by the loss of life in the Pacific Islands affected by the tsunami, and our thoughts go out to the residents of Porirua who have lost familiy & friends in this event.

If you wish to help, please think about donating money - do not donate goods - they are nigh impossible to actually deliver to the affected people, it's a logistical nightmare, and very expensive to deal with - unfortunately much actually gets thrown away. Donating money will get what is actually needed directly to where it is needed, with a minimum of fuss.