A senior Christchurch City Council manager bore the brunt of residents' frustrations at a public rally on Wednesday, as emotions ran high in one of the suburbs worst affected by a devastating earthquake.
About 100 residents from Avonside say they feel abandoned because work to restore basic services is taking so long following the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit Canterbury on 4 September.
Water services manager Mark Christian faced the frustrated crowd, amid jeers and heckling.
The rally was held in Acland Avenue, where piles of grey silt have yet to be removed and portable toilets are shared by residents because their sewerage system is not working. People also cannot use showers or baths, or wash clothes.
Residents demanded more information about the time it is taking to restore services and Mr Christian was close to tears as he told them he wished more could be done.
However, he explained that the repair work is slow because of its complexity, and promised residents the council will keep them better informed so they would not feel like their neighbourhood has been forgotten.
Residents of damage homes also say they feel neglected by the Government and the Earthquake Commission.
Rally organiser Angela Wasley says she wanted to get the community together to show that many people are still badly affected.
Residents were informed by letter five days ago not to use their water or waste water as their area was in need of major repair, with streets still closed and roads being dug up.
But that was the last information they have received and the say they feel in limbo, wondering how long it will be until they are able to get even close to a normal existence.
Council not communicating enough, mayor admits
Christchurch mayor Bob Parker accepts his council has not been communicating enough with residents and it has to improve on that.
However, Mr Parker told Checkpoint that information is going out in a variety of ways, including daily in the newspaper.
"There's information on local radio stations every day and hand-delivered material is going out on a weekly basis, but it's a massive communications issue.
"I think at the end of the day, people are feeling a sense of powerlessness over the situation that they're in."
Mr Parker says ironically, an update on wastewater was going into residents' letterboxes as the rally was being held.
The council has said it might be another three weeks until the Earthquake Commission has assessed every area.
