November 2016 earthquake recovery story now live

On 14 November 2016, Kaikōura and North Canterbury experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that had wide reaching impacts on New Zealand’s North and South Islands. The November 2016 Earthquake recover Story pulls together the many strands of support that government and councils have provided to help people back to a new normal.

So many organisations have done so much good work to help people, whānau and businesses back on their feet, repair vital infrastructure and protect our natural environment. Their stories are not widely known or told in one place. 

The November 2016 Earthquake Recovery Story was developed using content provided by the local councils, central government agencies and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, who all continue to support the recovery after the November 2016 earthquake.

We focus on the Kaikōura, Hurunui and Marlborough districts, as well as Wellington to some extent. We recognise, however, that the earthquake’s effects went way beyond these boundaries, having wider national and even international impacts.

Organisations and communities undertook an enormous amount of work in the aftermath of the earthquake during the response phase and much more lies ahead as we collectively enhance our resilience to events like this. However, this website focuses on past, current and ongoing recovery activities.

While there are many stories to share and many ways to tell them, we’ve divided the information into several sections to reflect the four key environments: social, economic, natural and built.

View the November 2016 Earthquake Recovery Story


Published: Dec 20, 2017, 11:13 AM