In all cases approach your insurance company prior to disposing of any goods or carrying out any restoration on your house.

If your home, car or contents have been damaged by the floods, take photos before you remove or repair anything, and let your insurance company know as soon as possible.

If you need to make your home safe, sanitary, secure and weather tight, record the work done and keep copies of any bills.

If you rent your property, contact your landlord and your contents insurance company as soon as possible.

Your insurance company will let you know what you need to do next and how to make a claim.

If you believe you have residential land damage from flooding or storms, you can contact either your insurer or the Earthquake Commission (EQC) to discuss EQC Cover.

Learn more about flood and storm damage at www.eqc.govt.nz/storm-damage

EQC have developed this guidance for people who have experienced damage to their farms or rural properties following a natural disaster. For more information email info@eqc.govt.nz or call 0800 DAMAGE (326 243)

Ashburton District Council building inspectors are available to conduct free inspections on any homes or businesses who have sustained floodwater damage. To arrange an inspection, call the Council on 03 307 7700.

Please take into consideration the direction of the wind and be aware of your neighbours and nearby traffic. Burn well away from roads and put out traffic signage for vehicles where necessary.

You CAN burn trees and other greenwaste, provided you meet these requirements:

• Stockpile the greenwaste and only burn it when it is dry
• Properties over 2ha in size in a clean air zone may only burn between 1 September and 30 April
• Guidelines for clean air burning are followed see here for more detail
• Check that Fire and Emergency does not have any burning restrictions in place, see www.checkitsalright.nz/

• Fencing materials that cannot be reused or recycled can be buried on-farm or taken to your local council’s transfer station.
• Silage wrap should be collected for recycling (e.g. Plasback) or taken to your local council’s transfer station disposal.

If you’re thinking about doing some works or are clearing away heavy debris that may drag into the earth, check beforeudig.co.nz who can help identify where cables, pipes and other utility assets are, in and around the proposed dig site.

Are you after some independent, professional advice and support to help tackle your farm debt?

The Government has allocated $200,000 for the Farm Business Advice Support Fund, which is managed by Rural Support Trusts. Banks are jointly funding the initiative.

Qualifying farmers can receive up to $6,000 to seek independent financial or business advice.

Fill in this form and apply through your local Rural Support Trust 0800 RuralHelp

http://www.rural-support.org.nz/what-we-do/Financial

Inland Revenue has a range of support in place for affected individuals and families, customers and businesses affected by the floods. The Inland Revenue website also has information on managing financial difficulty and debt, see here for more information or phone 0800 473 566.

If you’ve been impacted by the floods and are struggling to deal with your tax or payments, please contact your tax agent or accountant.

If you have missed filing returns or are late on payments, you can ask Inland Revenue to grant relief from penalties.

To assist farmers and growers Inland Revenue are exercising discretion in allowing early withdrawal from the income equalisation scheme.

If you rent your property and it has been damaged by the recent severe weather in Canterbury, contact your landlord and your contents insurance company as soon as possible. If you are the tenant or landlord of a rental property, you can find information here on your rights and obligations or phone 0800 TENANCY (0800 836 262).

Details about the Canterbury Flood Recovery Fund being managed by MPI can be found here Dealing with floods | MPI | NZ Government

It’s normal to feel upset and physically drained after events like this. You’re not alone in feeling this way, and you don’t have to cope on your own.

If you need support or advice, or have feelings of anxiety, stress, prolonged fear, hopelessness or anger, or you just need to talk with someone, you can text or phone 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor.

If you have health questions, phone Healthline on 0800 611 116. Healthline is staffed by experienced registered nurses 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you have questions about your child or baby’s health or wellbeing, phone PlunketLine on 0800 933 922 to speak to a Plunket nurse. PlunketLine runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Your GP is also able to help and will help connect you to necessary support services. Free appointments are available for all people living in Canterbury who have been affected by the recent floods, where the reason for the consultation is flood-related.

For the full list of local services click here

MPI Canterbury Flood Support

• Clean-up support: Do you need help cleaning up flood damage or debris? If you haven’t already, register here for Clean-Up Support
• Can you help a flood-affected farmer or grower? If you haven’t already, register here for Offers of Assistance
• Stock feed support is available if you are worried you might run low, call 0800 FARMING or 0800 327 646 or visit Dealing with floods | MPI | NZ Government

Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust

Rural support Trusts have local people who are trained to offer assistance and support. Their help is free and confidential. Phone 0800 RURAL HELP (0800 787 254) email rst.midcanterbury@gmail.com or visit www.rural-support.org.nz

Rural industry body contacts

• DairyNZ: www.dairynz.co.nz/business/adverse-events or 0800 4 DairyNZ (0800 4 324 7969)
• Beef & Lamb: www.beeflambnz.com or 0800 BEEFLAMB (0800 233 352)
• Federated Farmers: 0800 327 646

Water

Residents of properties affected by flooding who wish to preform water testing of their private water supplies are encouraged to contact a water testing laboratory. Laboratories that supply this service in Canterbury are:

• Eurofins Rolleston phone 03 343 5227
• Hills Chemistry phone 03 377 7176
• Analytica Laboratories phone 03 662 9357

Environment Canterbury

Environment Canterbury staff and contractors are in the field assessing damage and responding to priority issues throughout the region, including Ashburton. The latest information for the Canterbury Flood recovery can be found here Canterbury flood recovery | Environment Canterbury (ecan.govt.nz) Please call ECan on 0800 324 636 for further information.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

Phone: 0800 KAITAHU or email: info@ngaitahu.iwi.nz

Te Puni Kōkiri – Ministry of Māori Development

Te Waipounamu Christchurch Regional Office Phone: 0800 875 839 or email: tpk.te-waipounamu@tpk.govt.nz

Pacific Support

Ministry for Pacific Peoples – Christchurch Regional Office Phone: 03 366 7202 or email: southern@mpp.govt.nz

Whanau Ora Providers

Etu Pasifika phone 0800 388 727 (support contact - Mr Antonio Filimoehala)
Fale Pasifika O Aoraki phone 027 321 6149 (support contact - Ms Vicky Cunningham)

Ethnic Communities

For support, call 0800 656 656 or email ethnic.communities@dia.govt.nz

Disability Support

For support and referral please contact CCS Disability Action at 0800 227 2255