National state of emergency to end this weekend

6:25 am on 30 April 2011

The national state of emergency in Christchurch is to come to an end at midnight on Saturday, and the newly-formed Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) is to take over the recovery process.

The state of emergency was put in place on 23 February, the day after the 6.3-magnitude Christchurch earthquake.

CERA acting chief executive John Ombler says key roles and responsibilities will be shared between the authority, Christchurch City Council and other local authorities and agencies.

He says CERA will lead the planning and co-ordination of the recovery to ensure it happens as quickly and effectively as possible.

However he says people may not see a huge difference on the ground next week, as many Civil Defence systems such as cordons in the central city remain in place.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker has extended his thanks to the Civil Defence personnel who assisted in the wake of the quake.

He said they had "worked wonderfully" with the local council and done a tremendous job.

Mr Parker says it is the end of an era as the city moves from the initial rescue and repair phase to a longer recovery phase.