In the face of natural disaster, residents of one Wellington community are finding strength in each other.
A resident of the suburb of Whitby has been knocking on her neighbours' doors, collecting information to build a support network in case of future earthquakes.
"She came across and she just knocked on the door and she said, 'I'm from across the road, and I should have done this earlier,'" says Whitby resident Susan Mackay.
Ms Mackay says the woman explained she was getting to know all the people in the neighbourhood to ensure that if anything further happened, she knew who was in each house and how they could contact each other.
"She had this little list that she was making up of everybody's names and contact details, and the people who were living at each of the houses, and what possible skills could be useful in the events of earthquakes. She was going to be giving out this list to everybody in the neighbourhood."
Ms Mackay says she'd never had much to do with her neighbours, despite having lived in Whitby for five years, but that the earthquakes brought the community together.
"After the quake obviously everyone was a bit shaken up. It's been quite interesting seeing some of the things that people having been doing, the generosity and the level of support that people have been giving."
Ms Mackay says on days when there was flooding, and traffic in Whitby was at a standstill, residents were making coffees and cakes and taking them to stranded drivers.
She says people were offering to cook food for others who weren't coping, as well as offering places to stay for residents affected by landslides and offering to help dig them out.
Ms Mackay says that as a young mother, the sense of community in Whitby has given her strength.
"I have a young family so it's been quite scary in that regard, being a new mum and being like, I've got to look after my family, but I'm shaken up by the earthquakes enough as it is. But I have to show the strength.
"It's got me through seeing how much community spirit there has been. It's really made me feel a lot more comfortable.
"After seeing that, I'm like, actually, I can do this."
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