Almost 2100 of the 4300 foreign nationals in Queenstown who sought welfare assistance had been spoken to by Emergency Management Otago by yesterday afternoon, assisted by 120 public and private sector volunteers.
The volunteers had come from councils across Otago, Emergency Management Otago and Southland, the Department of Conservation and tourism operator Wayfare.
Their task was to call people who had asked for help, to get a clearer picture of their welfare needs, employment status, if they intended to remain in New Zealand or return to their home countries and if they needed help contacting their own governments.
There was a wide spread of nationalities, but there were more than 100 people each from India, the United Kingdom and the Philippines who had sought help.
Of the more than 1600 spoken to by Thursday night, most indicated they wanted to stay in New Zealand.
Fifteen percent said they wanted to go home but most had not registered for a repatriation flight or made contact with a travel agent.
Sixty percent indicated they still had employment.
Otago Civil Defence controller Richard Saunders said information collected would be shared with the Queenstown Lakes District Council and central government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
