Cash offer to abandon homes in quake city

Christchurch was struck by a magnitude-7.1 earthquake in September and a devastating magnitude-6.3 quake in February that killed 181 people and crippled much of the city.

The government said it has offered to pay about 5,000 Christchurch homeowners to leave and have their homes razed, on land too unstable for rebuilding. The future of an additional 10,000 homes, many of which may also need to be destroyed, is still being assessed.

The government estimated the cost of moving the first 5,000 homeowners at up to £312m.

Prime Minister John Key said the total cost of the earthquakes amounted to more than £9.4bn – about 8 per cent of the country’s annual economy. He compared that with Hurricane Katrina, saying the damage from that disaster amounted to about 1 per cent of the US annual economy.

Mr Key said recent months had been tough for residents of Christchurch, which continues to be rattled by large aftershocks.

“The people want to know what the future holds, and they’ve been through so much and shown such great resilience,” he said in Christchurch.

He emphasised yesterday’s announcement did not signal an end of efforts to help the city bounce back from the quakes.

“The government remains fully committed to rebuilding Christchurch,” he said.

Officials also said they have divided the city into four zones: red, orange, white and green. Red indicates homes will likely be destroyed and the land will not be rebuilt upon any time soon.

Orange means homes may need to be destroyed and land cleared. White indicates officials are still assessing the land, and green means the land has been given the all-clear for rebuilding or repairs to homes.

The government has set up a website – www.landcheck.org.nz – to help residents work out which zone they are in.