Christchurch After The Quake

Hi All,

Yesterday we toured Christchurch, NZ’s second largest city.  As many of you recall, Christchurch suffered two major earthquakes, the first on Sept 4, 2010 was 6.1 magnitude, and the second on Feb 22, 2011 was 7.9 magnitude.  The Sept quake caused significant damage to Christchurch but no fatalities. The Feb quake killed 185 people and caused catastrophic damage to Christchurch and its suburbs.  The total cost estimate for damages is $50 billion.  1000 of 4000 buildings in the city center have been or will be demolished.  Of 220 buildings more than 5 stories tall, 110 have been demolished.  Over 10,000 homes were destroyed.

Some buildings  like this movie theater are still awaiting demolition.  You can still see the theater seats in this picture. 

This shows damage to Christchurch Cathedral.  The church’s spire collapsed. There is controversy about whether the church will be restored or demolished and rebuilt.  The issue is now in court.

In the meantime this temporary cathedral has been built.  It is called the cardboard cathedral because the roof is supported by cardboard tubes.

This is what remains of the Catholic Cathedral.  The second picture shows what it looked like before the quake.

This is the site of the destroyed Canterbury Television building.  Of the 185 quake deaths, 115 died in this building.  The site is now somewhat of a memorial and people leave flowers which you can see in the middle of the picture.

This church has been braced until money is found to fund its restoration.

This arch honors New Zealand’s war dead and it is being repaired.

These next pictures show what is called the ReStart Mall.  It is a collection of shipping containers that have been put together and turned into stores, cafes, restaurants, etc.  What a clever solution to temporally address the destruction in the city center.  We had lunch in this area.

So that is a look at Christchurch today.  The recovery continues and it will take many years until it is complete.  New buildings are being completed every month.  BTW, the new building code limits buildings to 7 stories maximum.  The people are very resilient, determined, upbeat, and very friendly.  They miss what they have lost, but they are building a beautiful city.  We were moved by our visit to this amazing city.

Jer and Helen