Nelson Tasman Welfare Team on its Way to Canterbury

Thursday 9 September 2010

Members of the Nelson Tasman Civil Defence Emergency Management Group are continuing to send help to earthquake ravaged Canterbury – with the focus now on welfare.

A ten member civil defence team is on its way to Christchurch and will lead the establishment of a new sector post to assist residents.  The role of the sector post will be to provide information about services available to residents and to channel affected people to agencies that can help them. 

The team is led by Debbie de Geus who is a Nelson Tasman Emergency Management Officer.  Other members of the team include staff from Nelson City Council (four members), Tasman District Council (two members), a mental health crisis nurse from the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board and a teacher.

The welfare team follows the 12 members of the region’s Urban Search and Rescue team NZ RT2 which went to Christchurch earlier this week.  The USAR team is helping affected residents by securing chimneys and other damaged structures. 

Nelson City Council has sent seven Building Inspectors and Tasman District Council has also sent a Building Inspector with two more on stand-by to assist next week if required.