With many in Christchurch still living in earthquake damaged houses, the cold snap has prompted a call for temporary emergency shelters. Daphne Lewis-Mannix lives in a quake-damaged home in New Brighton. Her power was out last night, and she's been shivering overnight, already sick with a cold before the storm hit.
Four years after the Christchurch earthquakes, English language student numbers are still only just over half what they were before the 2011 quake.
An experienced builder says he couldn't wait to get out of the Canterbury Television Building after seeing how damaged it was in the September 2010 earthquake.
In Christchurch power is back on for all but a small number of customers after Monday's earthquakes, but the city council is warning it could be six months before water supplies return to normal.
More than four years after earthquakes first damaged home in Christchurch, hundreds of Canterbury homeowners are finding out that they may have to wait another two years before their damaged homes are repaired.
The Education Ministry has apologised after a critical report from the Chief Ombudsman said the ministry failed to fully inform Christchurch schools before revealing plans in 2012 to close and merge 38 of them following the Christchurch earthquake.
Research in the governance of urban tourist spaces is characterized by a lack of argumentative inquiry and scant use of critical theory. This is evident, particularly, in the study of tourism and post-disaster urban recovery, with very few contributions assessing the phenomenon from a social theory perspective. This thesis examines the complex phenomenon of planning and governance for urban tourism spaces in contexts facing physical recovery from natural disasters. It does so by looking at the governance dynamics and the mechanism of decision- making put in place before and after triggering events like earthquakes and tsunamis. This thesis provides evidence from Christchurch, New Zealand, by focusing on the policies and strategies for the regeneration of the city centre put in place before and after the disruptive earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The thesis looks at power relations, structures and ideologies through a Lukesian appraisal of pre-and-post disaster governance from two relevant urban tourist spaces located in the Christchurch central city area: the Arts Centre of Christchurch and the Town Hall and Performing Arts Precinct. The research strategy adopted for the study combined archival research, interviews with key stakeholders and fieldwork notes over a period of two years. The research deployed a comparative case study methodology that focuses on projects taking place within a spatially defined area of the city centre where special legislation was enacted as result of the earthquakes. The findings from the interviews and their triangulation with documents retrieved from national and local authorities suggest that the earthquakes affected the engagement among stakeholders and the mechanisms of decision-making. Also, the findings show patterns of disaster capitalism in post-earthquake governance for urban tourist spaces in the Christchurch CBD, with episodes of exclusion, lobbying and amendment of rules and legislation that directly benefited the interests of a narrow group of privileged stakeholders. Overall, the study shows that the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 accelerated neoliberal practices of site development in Christchurch, with the seismic events used as a pretext to implement market-oriented site projects in the CBD area.
The Earthquake Commission has settled with a Christchurch homeowner, just days before their test case was due to be heard at the High Court. Jamie Gibling used his KiwiSaver to buy his first family home in New Brighton after the quakes, believing it had been properly repaired. He later learned the repairs were botched and would cost $300,000 to fix. His "onsold" test case was supposed to be heard on Monday to clarify who was liable. But today EQC announced it had reached a settlement with the family and that agreement would provide a framework for the 54 other claimants also with Shine Lawyers. Finance and EQC Minister Grant Robertson last week announced an "onsold" settlement kitty of $300 million for the next 12 months but legal experts working with claimants have told Checkpoint it could cost taxpayers much much more. EQC's Deputy Chief Executive is Renee Walker. On Thursday she came into the studio and Lisa Owen asked her if the Giblings got what they asked for and if the 54 others who signed up to the class action would get the same.
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".
During 2010 and 2011, a series of major earthquakes caused widespread damage in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The magnitude 6.3 quake in February 2011 caused 185 fatalities. In the ensuing months, the government progressively zoned residential land in Christchurch on the basis of its suitability for future occupation (considering damage from these quakes and future earthquake risk). Over 6,000 homes were placed in the ‘red-zone’, meaning that property owners were forced to sell their land to the Crown. This study analysed patterns of residential mobility amongst thirty-one red-zone households from the suburb of Southshore, Christchurch. Drawing on interviews and surveys, the research traced their experience from the zoning announcement until they had moved to a new residence. The research distinguished between short (before the zoning announcement) and long term (post the red zone ‘deadline’) forms of household relocation. The majority of households in the study were highly resistant to short term movement. Amongst those which did relocate before the zoning decision, the desire to maintain a valued social connection with a person outside of the earthquake environment was often an important factor. Some households also moved out of perceived necessity (e.g. due to lack of power or water). In terms of long-term relocation, concepts of affordability and safety were much more highly valued by the sample when purchasing post-quake property. This resulted in a distinct patterning of post-quake housing location choices. Perceived control over the moving process, relationship with government organisations and insurance companies, and time spent in the red-zone before moving all heavily influenced participants’ disaster experience. Contrary to previous studies, households in this study recorded higher levels of subjective well-being after relocating. The study proposed a typology of movers in the Christchurch post-disaster environment. Four mobility behaviours, or types, are identified: the Committed Stayers (CSs), the Environment Re-Creators (ERCs), the Resigned Acceptors (RAs), and the Opportunistic Movers (OMs). The CSs were defined by their immobility rather than their relocation aspirations, whilst the ERCs attempted to recreate or retain aspects of Southshore through their mobility. The RAs expressed a form of apathy towards the post-quake environment, whereas, on the other hand, the OMs moved relative to pre-earthquake plans, or opportunities that arose from the earthquake itself. Possibilities for further research include examining household adaptability to new residential environments and tracking further mobility patterns in the years following relocation from the red- zone.
A digitally manipulated image of a statue of the Virgin Mary in a broken window of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The photographer comments, "Before the February 2011 earthquake the statue above was facing into the Cathedral looking down a corridor, but after it had turned 180 degrees to point towards the window. The statue of Mary turning like this gave a sign of hope for the people of Christchurch. It was amongst one of the most photographed things after the earthquake until it was removed".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Earthquake victims from Christchurch have been looked after in Blenheim by Rotary. They were having coffee in Chequers cafe before returning to Christchurch. From left to right: Rosanne McAllister, Lois Stanway, Rod and Margaret McKenzie (Blenheim Rotary)".
Hundreds of Christchurch homeowners have discovered extensive damage to the on-sold properties they purchased after the 2010/2011 earthquakes. Licenced Building Practictioner Dan Paltridge talks to Logan Church about what people need to look out for, and what they need to do before buying a home in the city.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch begins the slow recovery process after last weeks devastating 7.1 earthquake. Malcolm and Erika MacLeod and kids Lachlan(5) and & Hannah(2) had recently sold their with plans to move to the Gold Coast one day before the earthquake struck".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Christchurch Earthquake. Shops on the corner of Cranford Street and Westminster Street were torn down this afternoon as they had been deemed too dangerous after Saturday's earthquake in Christchurch. Rose Lennon and her son Myles Alexander were in one of the shops just hours before the police deemed it too dangerous".