Empty lots and makeshift public spaces: Why Christchurch's regeneration is…
Audio, Radio New Zealand
February 22 marks 13 years since Christchurch's devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake, and the urban recovery is still in progress.
February 22 marks 13 years since Christchurch's devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake, and the urban recovery is still in progress.
Hundreds of tourists have spent the night in makeshift accommodation in Wellington after fleeing earthquake hit Christchurch. The tourists were flown to the capital by the Royal New Zealand Airforce, many without passports, money and belongings left behind in hotels.
In the hours after the February 2011 Canterbury earthquake, Chessie Henry's father Chris Henry, a Kaikoura-based doctor, crawled into makeshift tunnels in the collapsed CTV building to rescue the living and look for the dead. Six years later, Chessie interviewed Chris in an attempt to understand the trauma that lead her father to burnout. In her book just published, We Can Make A Life: A memoir of family, earthquakes and courage, Chessie Henry considers the psychological cost of heroism and unravels stories and memories from her family history.