On 14 November 2016 an earthquake struck the rural districts of Kaikōura and Hurunui on New Zealand’s South Island. The region – characterized by small dispersed communities, a local economy based on tourism and agriculture, and limited transportation connections – was severely impacted. Following the quake, road and rail networks essential to maintaining steady flows of goods, visitors, and services were extensively damaged, leaving agri-food producers with significant logistical challenges, resulting in reduced productivity and problematic market access. Regional tourism destinations also suffered with changes to the number, characteristics, and travel patterns of visitors. As the region recovers, there is renewed interest in the development and promotion of agri-food tourism and trails as a pathway for enhancing rural resilience, and a growing awareness of the importance of local networks. Drawing on empirical evidence and insights from a range of affected stakeholders, including food producers, tourism operators and local government,we explore the significance of emerging agri-food tourism initiatives for fostering diversity, enhancing connectivity, and building resilience in the context of rural recovery. We highlight the motivation to diversify distribution channels for agri-food producers, and strengthen the region’s tourism place identity. Enhancing product offerings and establishing better links between different destinations within the region are seen as essential. While such trends are common in rural regions globally, we suggest that stakeholders’ shared experience with the earthquake and its aftermath has opened up new opportunities for regeneration and reimagination, and has influenced current agri-food tourism trajectories. In particular, additional funding for tourism recovery marketing and product development after the earthquake, and an emphasis on greater connectivity between the residents and communities, through strengthening rural networks and building social capital within and between regions, is enabling more resilient and sustainable futures.
The 16 th November 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake caused 2 deaths and 624 injuries, making it the largest earthquake casualty event in over 80 years outside of the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. Data on casualties (deaths and injuries) were sourced from the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). The ACC is New Zealand's publicly funded accidental injury insurance scheme. ACC data includes all victims that sought medical treatment for injuries resulting from the Kaikoura Earthquake through primary (e.g. GP clinics, physiotherapy clinics) and secondary (e.g. hospitals) health care systems but it does not contain victims that were administered first aid outside of the health care system. The context of casualties from the Kaikoura Earthquake were analysed by considering epidemiological, seismological and engineering perspectives. Of the 626 casualties, 67.4% were female, similar to that observed during the Canterbury Earthquakes. Four percent of victims were aged less than 19, 73% were aged 20-64, and 23% were aged 65 and above. Forty five percent of casualties were a direct result of the earthquake shaking, either from the victim being thrown around or objects hitting them, while 44% of casualties resulted from the action of the victim (e.g. trying to evacuate the building or moving to help another person), and 9% were from post-earthquake actions such as clean up or tsunami evacuation.
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