Saturday, November 07, 2015
A View of Christchurch New Zealand Nearly Five Years After the Big Quake
On February 22, 2011 at 12:51 in the afternoon, Christchurch experienced a Magnitude 6.3 earthquake which devastated huge portions of the city's infrastructure 185 people lost their lives and the Mercalli Intensity Scale was listed as VIII (or Severe). The quake had a focus of only 3 miles on a blind fault (one not previously recognized). We visited Christchurch and saw how the city was faring nearly five years on.
After five years many buildings still stand dilapidated and unusable
But in some respects there is a good reason for this - the city has decided to completely refection all of the waste rather than just dump it. The concrete is being crushed from each building and used in new aggregate. The still rebar is being recycled. Everything is being repurposed and so the demolition going much more slowly than one would expect as normal.
Many old structures were damaged and are some beloved that they have been propped up until a decision can be made on what to do with them.
Anywhere there is an empty corner signifies a place where a downtown, multistory building has been demolished. On this lot, 185 plastic chairs are a reminder to those who lost their lives. 115 people were killed in the collapse of one building. Eight were killed while riding in a Red Bus (city transport). One American was among the fatalities.
This is the Catholic cathedral and it too is still standing as no one quite knows what to do with it. I have visited cities that were destroyed by the Nazi's (Norway) or leveled by earthquakes in the 17th or 18th centuries (South America). Today, those cities stand strong having been rebuilt. If the people of Christchurch could only see that life will eventually go on after this tragedy. One day, Christchurch will be a new city but it may take 50 or more years before it fully recovers.
In 1912, Robert Falcon Scott lost his life on a return journey from the South Pole (along with his four companions) only five weeks after Roald Amundsen of Norway beat him to it. A statue of Scott used to stand on the foundation shown here but was toppled during the quake. In 1987 when I returned from my first journey to Antarctica and the South Pole, I took a picture of the state from this exact spot. I cannot wait to get home and dig out that old photographic slide I have of the statue and compare it to this.
We stayed at the new Rydges hotel only two blocks from the old one - still standing and cleared for reoccupancy. But the chain does not want the building.
The famous Christchurch Cathedral (Anglican). This used to be in the heart of a vibrant downtown but it stands in ruins with many surrounding building sites full of weeds. Incredible!
Soon after quake, some businesses decided to use ocean going containers as temporary buildings and the project was dubbed ReStart. It is now one of the most active business areas in the city and itself a tourist attraction.
The ANZ Bank has a branch here
And there are many other businesses as well. Our tour director had her first visit back to the city since 2010, so the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning for Christchurch.
I hardly recognized the place from 1987. Then, it was full of trees and every corner looked like a bit of England. The city was humbled in just 10 seconds of shaking. To read more details about the earthquake, check out this site
here.
But in some respects there is a good reason for this - the city has decided to completely refection all of the waste rather than just dump it. The concrete is being crushed from each building and used in new aggregate. The still rebar is being recycled. Everything is being repurposed and so the demolition going much more slowly than one would expect as normal.
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