Quake Refugees

Cantabrians displaced by the earthquakes.

David Neighbours

The Canterbury earthquake of 4 September 2010 literally woke people – it struck at 4:35 in the morning. But it also woke people figuratively: it showed Cantabrians that they were just as susceptible to earthquakes as the rest of these “shaky isles”. The second major earthquake on 22 February 2011 struck at 12:51 in the afternoon - a time when people were at work, in the city centre, or otherwise going about their daily business. It damaged and destroyed buildings already weakened by the first earthquake and killed 185 people.

In the aftermath, parts of Christchurch were rendered uninhabitable: houses were no longer fit to live in; roads were deformed and cracked; liquefaction was widespread, especially in the eastern suburbs of the city; and public utilities like water, power and sewerage were unavailable. The earthquakes created a new group of people: those who were now homeless and displaced, and who were no longer willing or able to live in Canterbury. These people came to be known as “quake refugees”.

The cartoon shows one car heading out of Christchurch and another heading into Christchurch. Two roadsigns read 'Earthquake refugees heading out of Christchurch' and 'Motorist refugees heading to Christchurch for cheap petrol'. Context - many people are leaving Christchurch after the 22 February earthquake but others are coming into Christchurch to benefit from cheap fuel.

Credit: Peter Bromhead. Source: https://natlib.govt.nz/records/23113878

Some 70,000 of these quake refugees left the city and the province in the period immediately following the earthquake. Some went south, increasing the population of nearby towns like Timaru, which grew by twenty percent. Some went to Nelson and Marlborough, while others went to Wellington, Waikato, or the Bay of Plenty. Many moved to Auckland and some even left New Zealand for Australia.

While most quake refugees went to stay with family and friends, people across New Zealand also opened their homes to these strangers from the south. Churches stepped up to organise accommodation and tangata whenua hosted many quake refugees on marae. For many quake refugees, this exodus was only temporary, but approximately 21,000 people left Christchurch permanently. Some of them relocated elsewhere in Canterbury: to Woodend, Pegasus and Amberley in the north; Lincoln and Rolleston in the west; or Ashburton and Timaru in the south.

The population of Christchurch rebounded, returning to its 2011 level in 2017. Since then, it has steadily increased, in step with the rebuilding effort which has slowly but surely transformed the once-broken city.

Resources:

  • Quake evacuees arrive in Wellington | Stuff - This report is about the over 1000 offers that came into the Wellington City Council to house quake-stricken residents arriving in the capital from Christchurch.
  • Cowles Stadium Welfare Centre closed | RNZ - This report is about the Cowles Stadium Welfare Centre for Christchurch earthquake evacuees closing for health reasons.
  • Timaru Welfare | RNZ - This report is about the thousands of Christchurch refugees that poured into Timaru after the earthquake on February 22, boosting its population by nearly 20 per cent. Social services gave out hundreds of food parcels, blankets, toiletries and clothes every day as well as finding accommodation for people who turned up in town with nothing. It includes an interview with Major Dean Herring of the Salvation Army in Timaru, who helped evacuees find places to live as well as dealing with the huge piles of donated goods.
  • 39 Christchurch self-evacuees registered in Waikato | Waikato Regional Council - This report is about the thirty-nine people who self-evacuated from Christchurch to the Waikato and registered through Work and Income. There were many more who were unregistered sheltering in the region following the earthquake.
  • Christchurch earthquake – thousands of refugees head for Auckland | NZ Herald - This report is about the expectation that Auckland's population would swell by up to 21,000 people as exhausted Christchurch residents fled damaged homes and aftershocks.
  • Chch Quake: evacuees arriving | Sunlive - This article reports on the 200 Christchurch people registered with Civil Defence in the Bay of Plenty as evacuees from the earthquake-rattled city. It includes comments from Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman John Cronin, who said that help was being offered to these people by the community.
  • Many Christchurch evacuees leaving for good | RNZ - This report is about the tens of thousands of people who left Christchurch after the earthquake, many of whom are planning to stay away for good.
An infographic showing migration from Christchurch.

Credit: The Press, Fairfax Media New Zealand. Source: https://quakestudies.canterbury.ac.nz/store/object/214906

  • Return of refugees to stretch services | Stuff - This report is about authorities in Christchurch bracing for an influx of quake refugees as many people return to the city. It includes comments from Civil Defence national controller John Hamilton, who said that thousands of people could be preparing to return as schools reopened and life started to return to normal, causing concerns that would place pressure on the city's fragile infrastructure.
  • Return of 60 thousand quake refugees | RNZ - This report is about Civil Defence saying that as many as sixty thousand people were expected to return to Christchurch after fleeing the city because of the earthquake on 22 February.
  • Disabled people return to quake city | RNZ - This report is about forty disabled people who had been evacuated from Christchurch after the earthquake on 22 February returning to the city. The Ministry of Health said that 260 mostly intellectually disabled people had to be relocated after the earthquake because of damage to residential care facilities.
  • Demand for temporary homes expected to be high in Christchurch | RNZ (Audio file)
  • This report is about expectations that the demand for temporary accommodation in Christchurch for earthquake evacuees would be intense once the rebuild work kicked into action in the coming months, despite a slow start.
  • 14/09/2011: Stuff: One in five quake-evacuated elderly die. - This report is about the fifth of rest-home residents evacuated from Christchurch after the February earthquake who died, according to health board figures.
  • Population movements following the 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquakes | GNS Miscellaneous Series - This publication is about the workshop and two subsequent conferences held in November 2011, in which a selection of evidence to date of immediate flight and return, permanent population loss, and the implications for future trends was presented and discussed.
  • Post-Disaster Mobilities: Exploring Household Relocation after the Canterbury Earthquakes | Simon Bernard Dickinson - This study analyses patterns of residential mobility amongst thirty-one red-zone households from the suburb of Southshore, Christchurch. The study proposes a typology of movers in the Christchurch post-disaster environment. Four mobility behaviours, or types, are identified: the Committed Stayers (CSs), the Environment Re-Creators (ERCs), the Resigned Acceptors (RAs), and the Opportunistic Movers (OMs).  
  • Christchurch refugees report back on their new lives in Nelson | RNZ - This report is about the support group which was credited for helping Cantabrians settle in Nelson after escaping the earthquakes.
  • Initial demographic and economic changes for Māori in a post-disaster landscape | Simon J. Lambert - This report triangulates available statistical and geographical information with qualitative data gathered over 2010 and 2011 by a series of interviews conducted with Māori who experienced the dramatic events associated with the earthquakes. It focuses on the social and economic impacts of the Christchurch earthquakes on Māori and their whānau. It aims to inform policy to support and assist Māori and their whānau during the recovery/rebuild phases.
  • Canterbury Wellbeing Index | CERA - This publication is about all aspects of wellbeing in Canterbury. In the population section, it says that in the immediate aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake there were reports of tens of thousands of people leaving the city. For most people this was a short-term response to an emergency, as families wanted time out from the aftershocks and from the damage to their homes and workplaces. Most people returned over the following days, weeks and months. According to an analysis of cell phone calls made by Christchurch users, around 55,000 residents may have left the city in the week after the February 2011 earthquake (15 per cent of the population).6 Most calls were made from Otago, Auckland or Wellington. A month later, records indicate that most people had returned to Christchurch.
  • Canterbury – the rebuild by the numbers | Stats NZ - During 2010 and 2011, Canterbury was struck by a series of devastating earthquakes. This included a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on 22 February 2011, which led to a loss of life and has severely affected Canterbury communities and families since then. This publication explores Canterbury’s rebuild seven years on, through the lens of data.
  • Christchurch surrounding areas booming 10 years after earthquake | RNZ - This report is about Christchurch still struggling with vacant spaces and little development 10 years on from the earthquake. In contrast, the surrounding areas of Christchurch in Selwyn, inland and in the Waimakariri District to the north are experiencing a boom, with the councils unable to keep up with building consents. The regions have continued to grow over the last 10 years after people initially moved there after the earthquake to escape the bumpy roads, red zones and EQC battles.
  • Manaakitanga: the role of marae during the Christchurch earthquakes of 2011 | RNZ - To mark ten years since the Christchurch earthquake, Te Ahi Kaa looks back at its coverage of how the tragedy inspired whanau in the Wellington region to look at how to transform their marae into welfare centres.

General Searches:

To search the CEISMIC collection for information and resources on quake refugees, get started with one of the links below.

  • To explore the effect of the earthquake on refugees (both “quake refugees” and refugee communities), click here.
  • To explore the fortunes of evacuees from Christchurch, click here.
  • To explore the relocation of people and businesses due to the earthquake, click here.
  • To explore Radio NZ’s extensive audio resources relating to the earthquake, click here.
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