Royal Commission hearings into the Canterbury earthquakes started in Christchurch today, with a indication that questions will be raised about whether some of those trapped in collapsed buildings could have survived.
Mayor Bob Parker entering the Christchurch Art Gallery after an aftershock hit during one of their briefings. A pile of shattered glass is in the main doorway. The Christchurch Art Gallery served as the headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to the back of the Canterbury Provincial Chambers, taken from Oxford Terrace across the Avon River.
RNZ Business Editor live from the Reserve Bank, where Governor Alan Bollard is reviewing interest rates, the first scheduled window since the Christchurch earthquake.
Most Christchurch firms are back on their feet a month after the devastating earthquake, but it remains a difficult city to do business in.
Text above the image reads 'Time capsule discovered under founder's statue-' The statue of John Robert Godley, the founder of Christchurch, has toppled and a time capsule has been uncovered in the rubble by three rescue workers. One of them reads the document he has pulled out of the capsule and it says 'Personally I favoured Akaroa...' Context - the Christchurch earthquake of 22 February 2011 after which 2 time capsules were found under the John Robert Godfrey statue - they have been sent to Museum experts to open. Akaroa was largely unaffected by the earthquake. A Nelson newspaper 'The Colonist' in an article published in 1918 about the time capsule in Christchurch said, "This statute of John Robert Godley executed by Thomas Woolner was erected in the west side of the Cathedral Square by the Provincial Government of Canterbury, and unveiled by the late Sir Charles Christopher Bowen on August 6 1867, it was moved to this site in March 1918." (3 News 2 March 2011) Colour and black and white versions available Quantity: 2 digital cartoon(s).
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck the city of Christchurch at 12:51pm on Tuesday 22 February 2011. The earthquake caused 182 fatalities, a large number of injuries, and resulted in widespread damage to the built environment, including significant disruption to the lifelines. The event created the largest lifeline disruption in a New Zealand city in 80 years, with much of the damage resulting from extensive and severe liquefaction in the Christchurch urban area. The Christchurch earthquake occurred when the Canterbury region and its lifelines systems were at the early stage of recovering from the 4 September 2010 Darfield (Canterbury) magnitude 7.1 earthquake. This paper describes the impact of the Christchurch earthquake on lifelines by briefly summarising the physical damage to the networks, the system performance and the operational response during the emergency management and the recovery phase. Special focus is given to the performance and management of the gas, electric and road networks and to the liquefaction ejecta clean-up operations that contributed to the rapid reinstatement of the functionality of many of the lifelines. The water and wastewater system performances are also summarized. Elements of resilience that contributed to good network performance or to efficient emergency and recovery management are highlighted in the paper.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a house in Christchurch. The roof of the house has collapsed, bringing the top of the front wall down with it.
A photograph of the earthquake damage to a house in Christchurch. The roof of the house has collapsed, bringing the top of the front wall down with it.
Angry reaction to Government energy strategy, Tizard questions Goff's ability to win election, Auckland agencies criticised for secrecy, Christchurch residents worried as winter approaches, Foreign language students scared off by earthquakes, Christchurch's tourism flickers to life but limited by quake, and Harawira aims for April 30th launch of new party.
As the feature length documentary When A City Falls about the Christchurch earthquakes goes on general release in New Zealand, One in Five recalls a programme from earlier in the year when Mike Gourley sneaks inside the Christchurch cordon to meet up with red zone resident, Frank Film's Gerard Smyth.
Text reads 'The new liquefaction?...' and the cartoon depicts a huge mass of 'insurance red tape' inside which is a man with a spade. Two people stare despairingly at the red tape and the man says 'How are we EVER gonna rebuild with this stuff bubbling up!' Context: The people are trying to rebuild their house after the Christchurch earthquakes and are having trouble with their insurance company. The Press has been contacted by people unable to get insurance to buy new homes, construct buildings or start businesses. Business leaders have called insurance delays a "cancer" eating away at the city's recovery, and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has acknowledged insurance is an "ongoing problem". (The Press - 24 August 2011) Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
The All Blacks coach Graham Henry says he'd have wanted another test before the Tri-Nations, even if the New Zealand Rugby Union hadn't organised the Christchurch earthquake fundraiser match.
Christchurch Health authorities say they will never put acutely unwell patients on top floors again after having to evacuate them after the 22nd of February earthquake.
One landscape colour digital photograph taken on 1 March 2011 showing the road between Franklin and Queenstown with an electronic road work sign depicting the words '12.51pm 2 minutes silence'. People all around New Zealand participated in gestures of support for Christchurch following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake on 22 February 2011. In Queens...
Emergency Management personnel outside the Christchurch Art Gallery. The Art Gallery was used as the headquarters for Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background, the east end of the Arts Centre can be seen.
With many people in Christchurch still without power and water and the streets covered in a thick layer of silt, getting clean clothes is proving difficult.
Revealed after the SoulFood Cafe building was demolished
The Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee is defending the time it's taking to get robust information for a full report on the matter.
Photos taken in Lyttelton showing the demolition at various locations following the February 22 earthquake. File reference: CCL-2011-05-20-Lyttelton-Demolition-P1120473 From the collection of Christchurch City Libraries.
The arms of a woman who represents New Zealand reach out to a baby to whom she has just given birth. The baby represents '2011' and is a particularly hideous specimen. The doctor who holds the baby says 'He's cute now but wait 'til he gets older!' Outside the window is seen a cracked and damaged landscape and a storm rages; the headstone of a grave reads 'RIP 2010'. Context - Christchurch or maybe the South Island have had a bad year because of the Pike River Mine disaster and the earthquake of 4 September 2010. There is perhaps prescience in this cartoon because on 22 February 2011 a much worse earthquake hit Christchurch. Published in The Press Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Scientists are calling for more ground testing to be carried out before reconstruction starts in earthquake devastated Christchurch.
A photograph of piles of bricks from earthquake-damaged buildings along the side of a road in Christchurch.
Offers of assistance to quake-ravaged Christchurch are flooding in from around the country.
One white linen tea towel with the poem ‘Stronger City’ by Gertrude Ryder Bennett, 1931, printed in black. This tea towel was produced by Lyttelton retailer 'God Save the Queen' in response to the 22 February earthquake. Rebecca Lovell-Smith owned and operated the vintage shop ‘God Save the Queen’ in Lyttelton. She lost both her home and the sh...
A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office preparing for their journey to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.
A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office preparing for their journey to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.
A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office preparing for their journey to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. In the background is the Wellington Emergency Management Office building.
Created to generate support for and develop the idea of the Christchurch CBD being rebuilt as the world's first elevated garden city, with rooftop gardens and open spaces connected by walkways and cycle paths.
The cartoon shows the word 'survivors' in very large print which fades out towards the end of the word. A second version is the same as the first but has the text 'Search called off' in the top left corner. A third version shows the word 'survivors' against a background of the ruined Christchurch Cathedral. Context - The moment when it was realized that no more people could have survived the Christchurch of 22 February 2011. To date there have been about 165 confirmed dead but there are more bodies still trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. Three versions of this cartoon are available Quantity: 3 digital cartoon(s).