Sally Furniss
Well-known member
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3703033a11,00.html
STOCKING UP: Samantha Doak, four, with an armful of batteries at an Ashburton supermarket.
KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press
Snow-hit households stock up
17 June 2006
By ARWEN HANN
Supermarket staff in snow-hit areas of Canterbury are being rushed off their feet by anxious householders fearing another big snowfall may leave them stranded.
Ashburton New World store manager Scott Buchanan said the store was almost as busy as Christmas Eve yesterday, with people stocking up before the weekend's forecast bad weather.
Staff were working extra shifts and longer hours to cope with the demand.
Buchanan said the store had measures in place to stop people panic-buying, but so far everyone had been sensible.
"It is mainly things like batteries, and we also sold out of candles. People are also buying more unusual things like salt and cat litter to use as grit," he said.
Debbie and Chris Doak, along with daughter Samantha, stocked up on food and batteries for their farm near Rakaia.
"We coped during the last few days, even though we lost our power, but we are stocking up now just in case," Debbie Doak said.
About 4000 homes remain without power as deep snow continues to make life difficult for repair crews and emergency services.
Rescue response teams from the Christchurch City Council, the Waimakariri District Council and Canterbury Civil Defence spent yesterdayin the Ashburton area after a request for help from the Ashburton District Council.
About 28 people helped deliver food to those unable to leave their homes, and helped to make contact with people whose power and phone lines had been cut.
The civil defence emergency manager at the Christchurch City Council, Murray Sinclair, said the teams would return to Christchurch this afternoon in case bad weather hit the city or Banks Peninsula over the weekend.
Snow and ice are continuing to cause problems throughout Mid and South Canterbury.
On Thursday, a couple lost all their possessions after the isolated house they were renting near Mayfield burnt down. It took firefighters 30 minutes to reach the property because of the icy conditions.
The house, in Anama Station Road, is owned by Sue and Robert Braham, who run the property as a farmstay.
They now face losing an important source of income while they rebuild, and they are without water in their own home after the pump supplying both houses was damaged in the fire. Sue Braham had to drive to a neighbouring property to find a cellphone to call 111 because the area's phone and power lines were still down.
The Brahams had bought a cellphone that day because of the bad weather, but had not had time to charge it.
No-one was in the house at the time of the fire, which gutted the wooden building.
Fire Service operations manager Steve Barclay said the fire crews had attended as quickly as possible, given the conditions. The fact the siren at Mayfield was not working because of power outages would not have affected the response time.
"All the volunteers carry pagers, so we can reach them that way instead," he said.
Two Fairlie fire trucks attended a house fire in Siegerts Road, Kimbell, yesterday afternoon.
The newly renovated house's roof was badly burnt. It is believed the logburner's chimney may have overheated.
On Thursday afternoon, a helicopter assessing snow damage crashed near Blue Mountain.
Alpine Energy chief executive Greg Skelton said the helicopter, with two people on board, had been flying for almost three hours when the accident happened.
The pilot and observer suffered minor injuries, but the helicopter was badly damaged in the crash, north-west of Geraldine.
STOCKING UP: Samantha Doak, four, with an armful of batteries at an Ashburton supermarket.
KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press
Snow-hit households stock up
17 June 2006
By ARWEN HANN
Supermarket staff in snow-hit areas of Canterbury are being rushed off their feet by anxious householders fearing another big snowfall may leave them stranded.
Ashburton New World store manager Scott Buchanan said the store was almost as busy as Christmas Eve yesterday, with people stocking up before the weekend's forecast bad weather.
Staff were working extra shifts and longer hours to cope with the demand.
Buchanan said the store had measures in place to stop people panic-buying, but so far everyone had been sensible.
"It is mainly things like batteries, and we also sold out of candles. People are also buying more unusual things like salt and cat litter to use as grit," he said.
Debbie and Chris Doak, along with daughter Samantha, stocked up on food and batteries for their farm near Rakaia.
"We coped during the last few days, even though we lost our power, but we are stocking up now just in case," Debbie Doak said.
About 4000 homes remain without power as deep snow continues to make life difficult for repair crews and emergency services.
Rescue response teams from the Christchurch City Council, the Waimakariri District Council and Canterbury Civil Defence spent yesterdayin the Ashburton area after a request for help from the Ashburton District Council.
About 28 people helped deliver food to those unable to leave their homes, and helped to make contact with people whose power and phone lines had been cut.
The civil defence emergency manager at the Christchurch City Council, Murray Sinclair, said the teams would return to Christchurch this afternoon in case bad weather hit the city or Banks Peninsula over the weekend.
Snow and ice are continuing to cause problems throughout Mid and South Canterbury.
On Thursday, a couple lost all their possessions after the isolated house they were renting near Mayfield burnt down. It took firefighters 30 minutes to reach the property because of the icy conditions.
The house, in Anama Station Road, is owned by Sue and Robert Braham, who run the property as a farmstay.
They now face losing an important source of income while they rebuild, and they are without water in their own home after the pump supplying both houses was damaged in the fire. Sue Braham had to drive to a neighbouring property to find a cellphone to call 111 because the area's phone and power lines were still down.
The Brahams had bought a cellphone that day because of the bad weather, but had not had time to charge it.
No-one was in the house at the time of the fire, which gutted the wooden building.
Fire Service operations manager Steve Barclay said the fire crews had attended as quickly as possible, given the conditions. The fact the siren at Mayfield was not working because of power outages would not have affected the response time.
"All the volunteers carry pagers, so we can reach them that way instead," he said.
Two Fairlie fire trucks attended a house fire in Siegerts Road, Kimbell, yesterday afternoon.
The newly renovated house's roof was badly burnt. It is believed the logburner's chimney may have overheated.
On Thursday afternoon, a helicopter assessing snow damage crashed near Blue Mountain.
Alpine Energy chief executive Greg Skelton said the helicopter, with two people on board, had been flying for almost three hours when the accident happened.
The pilot and observer suffered minor injuries, but the helicopter was badly damaged in the crash, north-west of Geraldine.