More than 150 homes in Eketahuna and Pahiatua have been checked with many found to have chimney or water cylinder damage as a result of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake which rocked the region on January 20.
Earthquake Commission inspector Dave Claude said 5000 claims had been received from throughout the region after the earthquake. The epicentre of the earthquake was only 13km east of Eketahuna.
The Times-Age caught up with Mr Claude in Eketahuna as he took a break from assessing homes where people had made claims to the commission. He has been doing the checks for the past two months.
Many people believed at first they only had minor damage but, on inspecting the properties, more damage had been found, Mr Claude said.
"We've just been scoping the damage around the region ... Many people had been hit mostly with cracked water cylinders but, on checking the properties, there was found to be chimney damage as well. In some cases, the chimney has had to come down. One elderly lady in Pahiatua didn't realise her brick wall had been damaged.
