Wellington, Sept 6 NZPA - Regional councils and other bodies are being urged to hold fire on offers of help until Canterbury's three councils have had a chance to work out what they need.

The Canterbury councils have been "inundated" with offers of help from other regional bodies following Saturday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

"These offers are no doubt greatly appreciated but we're advising councils to hold fire so Canterbury councils can have more time to evaluate and assess their needs," Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said.

"A co-ordinated response is going to be critical and the region's councils are talking with central government to prioritise response and actions."

Mr Yule said the response to the quake had so far been coordinated and professional but offers of assistance should go through Civil Defence.

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