Cathedral Square rebuild stalls
Audio, Radio New Zealand
More than four years after the February 2011 earthquake devastated Christchurch's city centre, the rebuild in and around the iconic Cathedral Square has stalled.
More than four years after the February 2011 earthquake devastated Christchurch's city centre, the rebuild in and around the iconic Cathedral Square has stalled.
A report commissioned by the Ministry of Health has found Canterbury residents are unlikely to suffer any health risks from asbestos exposure during the canterbury earthquake repairs. The Report is a review of Scientific Evidence of Non Occuptional Risks - and was convened by the Royal Society and the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor. Sir David Skegg, president of the Royal Society of New Zealand and Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health.
About 700 people packed Christchurch's Cardboard Cathedral last night to hear from a panel of experts on why, four years after the big earthquake, they're still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.
The jury's still out on whether changes at the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority represent a winding back of the government's involvement in the rebuild of Christchurch or simply a shift in its focus.
As the fourth anniversary of the earthquake which devastated Christchurch approaches, the slow pace of the rebuild has surprised many. But how quickly have other earthquake hit cities returned to their former glory? Radio New Zealand Christchurch reporter, Rachel Graham, visited Japan for an Insight documentary to compare the progress made in the Sendai area, almost four years after it was hit by a magnitude 9 earthquake and a mega tsunami. She also visited Kobe to look at the impact on that city, and the lessons learnt, 20 years after it was hit by a major earthquake.