Christchurch 2011 earthquake: 10 years on
Audio, Radio New Zealand
Jo Gallagher was working as a St John Advanced paramedic on February 22 10 years ago and was treating a patient when the quake struck. She joins Jesse to share her story.
Jo Gallagher was working as a St John Advanced paramedic on February 22 10 years ago and was treating a patient when the quake struck. She joins Jesse to share her story.
As Christchurch prepares to mark 10 years since its deadly earthquake, the impact of that day continues to be felt differently. The less affluent eastern suburbs, which bore the brunt of the damage, continue to lag behind the rest of the city in their recovery. The former dean of Christchurch and fellow east sider, Peter Beck, told Conan Young that while government agencies such as EQC often failed people in their hour of need, what did not fail was the willingness of people to help out their neighbours.
Misko Cubrinovski is interested how the ground and the structures on - and in - it behave during an earthquake.
How the physical, mental, emotional and financial aftershocks of Christchurch's deadly earthquake which claimed 185 lives, are still being felt 10 years on.
Monday's 10 year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that took the lives of 185 people in Christchurch, will be marked with a special service near the city's earthquake memorial. Large crowds are expected from half past twelve this afternoon on the lawn just across the river from the memorial wall. Among those speaking is the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. A message from former mayor, Sir Bob Parker, will be read out. Sir Bob, who led the city through one of its most challenging periods, recently suffered a major stroke and heart attack. The names of the 185 who died will be read before a minute's silence at twelve fifty one, the exact moment the quake struck. Flowers will then be laid at the memorial wall.
Christchurch is still struggling 10 years on from the earthquake with vacant spaces and little development. In the surrounding areas of Christchurch in Selwyn, inland and in the Waimakariri District to the north it's boom times, 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. RNZ's Sally Murphy reports.
RNZ is launching a new podcast today marking the tenth anniversary of Christchurch earthquake. It's called Fragments: Firsthand accounts of the February 2011 earthquakes. The podcast features interviews done with quake survivors recorded in the months following the devastating earthquake recorded by locals Julie Hutton and Sandra Close. RNZ checked in with some of the people Hutton and Close spoke to ten years on from the disaster. Katy Gosset produced and presented the podcast. An earlier version of this article failed to reference the work from Julie Hutton and Sandra Close.
Today marks 10 years since the February earthquake claimed 185 lives. RNZ's Christchurch reporter, Rachel Graham, was at the Canterbury Earthquake Memorial site for the official ceremony and spoke to Māni Dunlop.
Survivors are gathering in Christchurch today to remember those who died in the devastating Christchurch earthquake of 2011. Of the 185 people who were killed, 115 died when the CTV building collapsed. Former CTV employee Tom Hawker watched his workplace collapse in front of him. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.
Monday marks a decade since a 6.2 magnitude quake close to the centre of Christchurch killed 185 people. Everybody in the city that day has a story to tell and for many, the memories remain fresh, ten years on. Conan Young has been speaking to some of them.
Victorian Authorities are warning residents of significant aftershocks following on from the magnitude 5.8 earthquake which shook Melbourne around 9am yesterday, causing significant structural damage across the city. The University of Melbourne's Dr Mark Quigley is a professor of tectonics, who became a familiar voice and face through the Christchurch quakes. Our producer Matthew Theunissen asked him how yesterday's quake compared to those he experienced in Christchurch.
Cantabrians are still surrounded broken buildings and empty spaces on the 10th anniversary of the devastating 22 February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The disaster forced 70 percent of the CBD to be demolished. The Government launched an ambitious recovery plan to help it recover in 2012. The Christchurch Central Recovery Plan, dubbed the "blueprint" would dictate the rebuild of the central city. To support it, the Government would complete a series of "anchor projects", to encourage investment in the city and make it a more attractive place to live in. As Anan Zaki reports, the anchor projects appeared to weigh down the progress of the rebuild.
A prominent Christchurch property investor says the Government's anchor projects meant to help rebuild the city faster, has instead slowed it down. After the 2011 earthquake, the Government launched a recovery plan for the CBD, which had 16 anchor projects designed to spur on the rebuild. However, many have been plagued by delays and are still unfinished. Property investor Antony Gough told RNZ reporter Anan Zaki that unlike the Government, it was the private sector which ploughed ahead with the rebuild.
Joy Reid nearly gave up journalism while struggling with PTSD after covering the Christchurch earthquakes, but went on to her dream role as the Europe correspondent for TVNZ.
Liquefaction lessons from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and biotechnologists doing interesting things with plants.
After lengthy construction and Covid-19 delays, a centrepiece in Christchurch's earthquake rebuild will finally open its doors today. The $475 million convention centre called Te Pae is already booked to host 150 events next year, but they're not expected to be money-makers. Reporter Jean Edwards took a tour.
Urban forager and food writer, Liv Sisson finds all sorts of tasty treats in the Otautahi city centre.With some of the housing and buildings destroyed in the earthquakes, a rewilding has taken place providing a range of edible plants. Liv Sisson gathers produce thriving on berms and near the Avon River.
In less than a minute, Christchurch and its people will be changed forever. Produced by Katy Gosset and Justin Gregory.
A frantic rewrite was required during the lockdown last year by novellist Janna Ruth, who'd set her novel Time to remember in Christchurch throughout 2020. The book's characters are mainly preoccupied by the 10th anniversary of the September 2010 Canterbury earthquake, but Janna knew she needed to include the pandemic once it took hold. But in fact she'd started working on the novel back in 2005, well before both traumatic events. Janna came to New Zealand from Germany to study geology, and she uses some of her memories from her university years in Time to remember. In it a group of university students bond and bicker, some of them still scarred by the earthquake a decade earlier.
After a day of remembering the terrible events of 10 years ago, Christchurch got to celebrate last night with an international T20 match between the Black Caps and Australia. It was the first international match played under lights in the city since the earthquake. Conan Young headed along to Hagley Oval where a sold out crowd was treated to some champagne cricket.
The Black Caps captain will lay a wreath in Christchurch for the Canterbury earthquake remembrance service. Brenton Vannisselroy has te pūrongo hakinakina.
Monday marks ten years since the Christchurch earthquake shattered New Zealand's second largest city. One-hundred-and-eighty five people lost their lives when a magnitude 6.2 quake shook the city apart. David Berry was one of the first responders in the city centre as part of Urban Search and Rescue. He speaks to Corin Dann.
Te Pae, Christchurch's near $450 million convention centre, has been officially opened this afternoon with a pōwhiri and unveiling by Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Minister Megan Woods. Billed as a legacy for the city, it replaces the old centre which was demolished following the Canterbury earthquakes. Niva Chittock is at the ceremony and joins Lisa with the details.
Just one CTV employee who was in the building during the February 22 earthquake managed to escape before it came down. For Maryanne Jackson, the pain of losing 16 colleagues has been compounded by the lack of accountability following the catastrophic collapse that killed 141 people. She sat down with Checkpoint reporter Nick Truebridge and cameraman Nate McKinnon.
Christchurch artist Mike Beer creates miniature models of Christchurch buildings that were lost in the Canterbury earthquakes. Through these tiny models Mike hopes to remind people of the buildings that once shaped the city - and bring back the feelings and memories associated with them. Mike, who goes by the name Ghostcat, says It's all about the connections people have with a time, and place. His models are to be displayed at Fiksate Gallery in Christchuch from April 9.
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake there are renewed calls for an inquiry into how Southern Response dealt with Canterbury earthquake claimants. Last year the government set up a support package for those who were short changed by Southern Response for their earthquake repairs. It came after a landmark High Court case found Southern Response misled and deceived Karl and Alison Dodds. Insurance claimants advocate, Ali Jones, says ten years on, lessons haven't been learned from how people were treated by Southern Response. She told RNZ reporter Sally Murphy that dealing with them is hell.
Our weekend panellists, Jane Clifton and Richard Harman look at the 10th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, riding bikes on the footpath, vaccines, and the New Zealand 'terrorist' arrested at the border in Turkey.
Paul Bushnell is talking today about how different clichés are subverted by great storytelling: Fragments, an RNZ series about the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and Carrier from the USA - what would once have been called a radio drama.
Christchurch's plan to have 20,000 people living in the city centre within the next few years looks increasingly set to fail. Official figures from last year show the Central Business District's population hovering at around 7000, stubbornly lower than before the earthquakes struck more than a decade ago. Reporter Anan Zaki has more.
The Aromaunga Baxters Flowers nursery in Heathcote, Christchurch sits right above the point where the earthquake struck on 22 February 2011. The greenhouses on the steep slopes of the Port Hills, as well as a big old villa and other brick buildings were badly damaged. Ten years on co-owner John Baxter says the earthquake damage is still being repaired, but sales have been boosted by a lack of imported flowers due to Covid-19 restrictions.