Rural Canterbury residents have today learned the fate of their quake-hit land, with all of Selwyn and large parts of Waimakariri reclassified in the green zone.
The land was classified in the white zone, meaning it had been unmapped by geotechnical engineers, when the Government announced last month all of greater Christchurch had been mapped into four zones of damage.
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee today said the areas had been reclassified following engineers' advice the land had generally not suffered major damage from the series of major earthquake and aftershocks.
"The reclassification does not include the Kaiapoi ward area in the Waimakariri District, which has already been zoned into either the red, orange or green zones," Mr Brownlee said.
There would be "isolated exceptions" where properties had land damage and further geotechnical assessment may be required.
Mr Brownlee said such properties would be dealt with by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) and insurance companies.
"For the most part homeowners in the green zone who have had their EQC claim assessed can get on with the process of repairing or rebuilding their home if it was damaged by the earthquakes," Mr Brownlee said.
There were reports some insurance companies were reluctant to complete assessments because they were uncertain what the white zone meant.
"It was also confusing for residents. That's why we have rezoned these areas into the green zone to avoid any confusion," Mr Brownlee said.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) website would be updated with the zoning changes by early next week.
Cera will also post further information to residents in the Selwyn and Waimakariri green zones on Monday.
