It's more than eight years since the earthquakes saw Christchurch crumble. Forty billion dollars has been poured into rebuilding - but what's missing now, is people.
It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the number of people coughing and sneezing in the office is increasing day by day. Flu season is here, and with it comes … Continue reading →
An experiment to see if the cast of a play can make friends with their audience in just an hour is the latest project by the country's only theatre company involving people who are - or have been - homeless. As part of the Auckland Fringe Festival, the Hobson Street Theatre Company is working with the Street Choir on That's What Friends Are For.: It's directed by Dr Peter O'Connor from the University of Auckland. He's worked with survivors of natural disasters like the Christchurch earthquakes to help people - especially children - work through the trauma. Lynn Freeman talks with Peter, and with one of the actors, Richard. That's What Friends Are For premieres on Tuesday at the Basement Theatre as part of the Auckland Fringe, before heading to the fringe festivals in Wellington and Dunedin.
It's almost eight years to the day since the first Christchurch earthquake, and as anyone who lives in Christchurch knows, some insurance claims are still in dispute. Dodgy repairs are still being discovered and previously undiscovered damage is being found. Earthquake Commission minister Megan Woods says as problems emerge, people can come back and ask for re-repairs or have their home looked at. But just how much money is in the National Disaster Fund?
By Fabian Bell The Avon is a lovely river. Of course I know that many people will say that it is no better than a ditch, &c. I pity their want of taste. Of course the stream is narrow and does …
It's hoped a new art installation in Ōtautahi Christchurch can help people talk their worries away through a series of telephones by the riverside. Twelve telephones have popped up across sites commemorating the city's devastating 2011 earthquakes. The group behind the project is Flourish Kia Puawai. Its associate director Sharon Torstonson spoke to Corin Dann.
The cartoon shows a starry night sky and the words 'He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!' Translates as 'What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!' Context - may refer to a sense of heightened unease because of the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 and now the catastrophic Japanese earthquake of 11 March 2011 that is threatening nuclear disaster because of the meltdown of spent fuel rods in nuclear reactors in Fukushima. Colour and black and white versions of this cartoon are available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
Christchurch residents will gather today to mark the tenth anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquake. The 6.2 magnitude quake killed 185 people and caused widespread destruction across the city. It hit at 12.51pm while many people were in the city centre, working, shopping or enjoying their lunch in the sunshine. This is where our coverage began. A warning this is confronting audio of events that day.
Our last guest is one half of the duo known in Christchurch as the Brilliant Bagshaws Dr Sue Bagshaw has worked in the youth health sector for 30 years. She's set up and been involved in so many organisations benefitting young people it would make your head spin. She chairs the Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust running the Youth One Stop Shop 298 Youth Health, where she runs teaching clinics and is in the process of setting up the Christchurch Youth Hub - Te Hurihanga o Rangatahi, a collaboration of health and social services and transitional housing for youth. Dr Bagshaw established the 198 youth one stop shop in 1995 and helped run it for 15 years. She's advised a network of similar organisations around the country, now known as the Network of Youth One Stop Shops. Following the Christchurch earthquakes, she brought together 16 youth organisations to form the first youth hub in Barbadoes Street in 2012. Colin: Dr Bagshaw is now Dame Susan Bagshaw. I asked her if she thinks she'll ever get used to being called Dame Susan
A project manager for a company doing home repairs in the Christchurch earthquake rebuild says it is highly likely as many as 60-thousand people have been exposed to potentially lethal asbestos fibres.
Liquefaction in a residential property in North New Brighton. The fence has subsided into the silt, and a temporary water line runs along the street in front. The photographer comments, "Because this is in the Christchurch red zone the people living here, if they have lost one of the normal essentials such as sewage they will not get it repaired. It is get out or live in third world conditions. The blue line is the temporary water pipe, which will be removed when the area is depopulated".
Southern Response is back in court today - this time having a final go at arguing that a class action against it should not be an 'opt-out'. Christchurch residents Brendan and Colleen Ross say the state insurer deliberately withheld the true cost of repairing their home which was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes. They are now among 3000 people represented in a class action led by Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron. In September last year the Court of Appeal decided the class action could proceed on an 'opt-out' basis - which means it would cover more people and potentially cost the state-owned insurer more money if it loses. Southern Response is challenging that decision in the Supreme Court, a two day hearing wrapped up on Tuesday. Checkpoint reporter Logan Church was there.
It's seven years today since Christchurch was rocked by the magnitude 6.3 earthquake. It killed 185 people, injured thousands more and led to whole suburbs and most of the central city being demolished. Seven years on, the rebuild is still underway and some residents are still struggling to get the repairs they want.
Several 'quake victims' dive into a fissure and zip it up as Santa Claus in the form of a malignant '$' symbol leaps towards them yelling 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' One of the quake victims shouts 'Quick Hide! Christmas is getting closer!!' Context; the Christchurch earthquake on 4th September and all the subsequent aftershocks have cost many people a great deal of money. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Shows a furious man with a banner that says 'Orange'. Context: The frustration experienced by Christchurch people whose houses are still in the 'orange' zone which means a decision has yet to be made about whether their house is considered safe. If considered safe it will be deemed 'green' or not, in which case it will become 'red' and the people will have to move. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The idea of a ‘souvenir’, as a physical keepsake of a place or event, is not a new concept. It’s been around for as long as people have been bringing home exotic treasures from far-off lands, or trying to preserve … Continue reading →
A video of people shopping on the opening day of Re:Start Mall. Re:Start Mall is a container mall set up in Cashel Street after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. It is made up of shipping-container shops, with the Ballantynes Department Store reopening as a retail anchor.
To the casual observer, community gardens may look like places where people just come to grow fruit and vegetables. Through digging beneath surface appearances, however, the research literature suggests that there is more to the creation of and participation in community gardens than that which is immediately apparent. The overall aim of this research was to explore and interpret the meaning of community gardens in terms of the sought and experienced well-being of the individuals who participate, and their associated communities. This research was undertaken in the Christchurch/Selwyn district, in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. This research utilised the technique of photo-elicitation interviews to study the meanings attributed to community gardening, in the post-earthquake environment. Five gardens were investigated. Results show that a range of meanings, and well-being outcomes are experienced through a combination of physical, educational, aesthetic appreciation, contemplative, creative and social connections within the garden and within the overall context of nature. Significantly, within the post-earthquake environment, the community gardens can offer participants the opportunity to appreciate life and what it means for them.
A review of the week's news including... The bill to fix botched EQC repairs from the Canterbury earthquakes is now four times what the previous Government predicted just two years ago, immigrants are being computer profiled, MPs are told that medicinal cannabis should be legalised for more people, Middlemore Hospital's woes continue, the Government orders a compulsory recall of 50 thousand vehicles with faulty airbags, Auckland drivers face a double tax hike under proposed sweeping changes to transport funding, Parliament changes the law so New Zealand men with historical homosexual convictions can have them wiped, a bus company wants to recruit more than 100 drivers from overseas because it can't find enough people to do the job here, Dunedin has its biggest weekend ever in terms of money spent thanks to Ed Sheeran, first it was closing - now it's not, Kaikohe's Warehouse is to stay, it all comes together for the New Zealand cricket team against England, an international consortium reaches a verbal agreement to buy the New Zealand Warriors and the woman who was RNZ's Washington correspondent for more than 20 years has died.
Two men discuss in a pub the problem that Christchurch has about how to house all the workers arriving to rebuild the city. One of them suggests the solution found for the workers on the Manapouri Dam which was housing them on cruise liners. Context: One solution has been provided by the Defence Force who are leasing 42 derelict NZDF houses next to Burnham Military Camp. Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
The Forsyth Barr building has stood silent and empty (except the occasional intruder and pigeons) since the February 2011 earthquake. It was sold "as is" and I understand that it is now going to be fitted out as a hotel. This is the building that had severe stairwell damage during the quake necessitating people being lowered via ropes etc on t...
The cartoon shows a digger dredging through the rubble and digging up a red heart representing 'hope' (Tom Scott doesn't do colour so this is significant). A rescuer nearby yells 'Careful! It's still beating'. Context - on 22 February 2011 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck in Christchurch which has probably killed more than 200 people (at this point the number is still not known) and caused much more severe damage. There were many people trapped in collapsed buildings and it was apparent in only two or three days that in most cases they could not have survived but of course people still held out impossible hope. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Some central Christchurch businesses are having to close their doors, blaming a tough economic climate. Retail spending in the central city is only 80 percent of what it was before the devastating 2011 earthquakes, while the number of people living in the area has shrunk by a third.
A photograph captioned, "I guess the only good thing that came out of the earthquake is that we know the residents better. It definitely bought people together, and the support was incredible. If you didn't know your neighbours before, you definitely knew them after the quake. We made friends out of this".
The government is crowdsourcing the cyclone recovery bill. It has launched an international fundraising effort, modelled on the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal - which raised almost $100 million. A separate special Lotto draw will also be held on March 18 with all proceeds going to affected communities. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has urged New Zealanders to get behind the effort. He defended asking people to chip in when the cost-of-living is so high.
The title is 'Gambling on the rise in Christchurch'. Several vignettes show two men running in the 'Porta-loo stakes (runs)'; people betting on the 'size of the next shake'; people betting on 'who will have the last chimney standing'; a man sitting over a pot on a little gas ring wondering 'How long will it take to boil a 3 minute egg... when it's minus 10 in the kitchen'; someone in a car wondering 'Whose street can wipe out the most engine sumps'; and someone wondering 'Which power company will be first to put people before profits'. Context: The way of things following the earthquakes of September 4 2010, 22 February 2011 and 13 June 2011. The Problem Gambling Foundation says it is concerned more Christchurch people are turning to gambling to combat stress from earthquakes. It says spending on pokie machines in Christchurch has risen by almost $4 million, going against a downward national trend. The foundation says the data released by the Department of Internal Affairs shows spending on gaming machines rose by more than $3,800,000 in Christchurch city to almost $23 million. (Radio NZ News 26 July 2011) Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
A photograph captioned, "We get the young fellas to come in and do the upkeep on the government houses that have been sold. They cut down all the long grass and just tidy up all the fire risk sections. This one's easier cos the house is gone. If you keep it tidy it looks tidy from the road. There's people living here, and there's nothing worse than looking over your house and seeing grass this high".
At 12.51pm it will be 10 years since a devastating 6.2 earthquake struck Ōtautahi Christchurch, bringing down buildings and killing 185 people. A National service will get underway at half-past-12 at the city's Canterbury Earthquake Memorial site, to mark the anniversary. Maurice Gardiner's sister, Donna Manning, died in the CTV building collapse. Mr Gardiner told Māni Dunlop that at the Avonhead Cemetery this morning, he and his family joined others who have whānau buried there for a private service, where they remembered those they lost 10 years ago.
The Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes has heard evidence questioning the measure used to judge how resistant a building is to earthquake damage. It's come on the second day of hearings into why unreinforced masonry buildings collapsed in Christchurch during the February 22nd earthquake, killing 40 people.
While it is well known that challenging and distressing events can negatively impact people’s psychological and physical state, increasingly researchers have investigated how challenging or stressful life circumstances can lead to the phenomenon of posttraumatic growth: positive psychological or life changes that can emerge from potentially traumatic events. Posttraumatic growth has been investigated primarily with people displaying varying levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms and other psychopathology due to theories suggesting that resilience would prohibit posttraumatic growth. Few studies have examined growth amongst resilient people. The current study examined posttraumatic growth in a sample of sixty psychologically healthy people who experienced the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010-2011. The current study is a follow-up study that used thematic analysis to explore: (1) Whether posttraumatic growth is evident nine years after the Canterbury earthquake sequence and approximately six years after baseline assessment; and (2) What themes may facilitate the posttraumatic growth process in psychologically healthy people. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis revealed four themes describing participants’ experiences of growth: New possibilities, reappraisal of life and priorities, positive changes in self-perception and closer more meaningful relationships. Themes describing posttraumatic growth provide evidence for research question one. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes and multiple subthemes that may facilitate the process of growth in psychologically healthy people: Hardship, optimistic positive appraisal and people helping people. Themes describing processes that may lead to growth provide evidence for research question two. Results of the current study provide insights about the experience of growth in psychologically healthy people and cognitive and psychosocial factors that may facilitate growth in resilient individuals.