Christchurch, New Zealand

February 11, 2015

Christchurch is New Zealand's 3rd largest city and the largest on the South Island. It was a very robust city but all that changed after two earthquakes hit the city. On September 4, 2010 at 4:35am a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred a ways off shore and deep in the earth. Many buildings were severely damaged, but no fatalities. Residents thought they had escaped a bullet. However on February 22, 2011 at 12:51pm a magnitude 6.3 quake occurred right under the city and near the surface. This quake killed over 120 people, mostly students in one building which had been declared safe after the first quake. The quake for all intensive purposes destroyed the downtown area as hundreds of commercial and residential buildings were now deemed uninhabitable.

A tour of the city shows a place trying to rebuild itself with construction workers filling in for a large part of the population who have vacated the city. We see what was and what will be, for very little of what even remains is probably going to be torn down. Ironically, new construction is mainly lumber based for it absorbs earthquake shocks better than concrete structures.

A part of old Scotland still remains

A skyline dominated by construction cranes

Damaged church, walls sbraced by cargo containers

The major stadium, now rendered unsafe

Memorial of different chairs for each quake fatality

An empty space where most victims died

A museum with a house filled with paua shells

"Punting" the Avon River in the center of Christchurch

One of the city's parks.

View from the heights overlooking Christchurch