In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Christchurch last week, there is such a prevalent feeling amongst those not directly involved in or affected by events, to offer help in some way. For those of us in the geospatial field disaster support often takes the form of facilitating data to help decision makers, or providing our technical, analytical and cartographic skills to assist with response and recovery efforts.

Late last week a call went out from the National Crisis Management Centre for additional Wellington-based government GIS analysts. Staff were needed to support efforts with GIS analysis, mapping product output, and operational data analysis and I'm happy (and proud) to report that two senior GIS staff from LINZ answered the call without hesitation and have been providing assistance to Stuart Waring and his team since last Saturday.

While I would not hesitate if asked to make a map or run a spatial model in support of efforts currently underway in Christchurch, I feel this type of technical support is best left in the hands of the experts, whose skills and ability to provide immediate value far outshines those of an old-timer like me.

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