City of contrasts five years after the first big quake

Cantabrians are taking stock on the fifth anniversary of the first major 7.1 magnitude earthquake on September 4, 2012.

We were shaken awake by one of the longest earthquakes on record – some official records put it at 40 seconds.

We held on to each other in the hallway under the shelter of a doorway.

Then silence. No power, no water, Except for the mysterious little jets of water sprang up everywhere, from the lawn, between the cracks in footpaths.

Wellington must be destroyed, we thought, and got on the phone to sleepy-eyed relations in the capital who couldn’t understand what we were talking about.

Then it all seemed to be over. Half an hour later another 5.6 hit, followed by dozens that day, and they continued through the days and nights ahead, for a year.

Things seemed to settle a little as the weeks went by. Mayor Bob Parker went to an overseas conference to talk about the resilience of Cantabrians.

But the Boxing Day 2010 earthquake should have been a big wakeup call when shopfronts fell apart in the main shopping area in Cashel St.

City officials and some property owners and managers were still reluctant to look a pending disaster in the face.

Until the deaths of 185 people at around midday on February 22, 2011, which drove the lesson home as buildings bucked from the seismic energy released directly under the central city.

Nearly every brick chimney shook apart.

Most of the deaths were in two relatively modern but poorly designed buildings. Others were caused by falling masonry and the toll would have been much higher except parts of the city were locked down and much of the debris had already fallen from earlier shakes.

It has taken five years to arrive at an agreed national strategy for making buildings safe – in part thanks to the efforts of Ann Brower, the sole survivor when a bus was crushed from falling masonry.

Five years later, Christchurch is a city of contrasts.

Parts of the central city are a construction site. Streets are still being dug up for pipe and road repairs. Small businesses have come and gone, unable to survive from the reduced pedestrian traffic and road construction.

Others are returning from the suburbs to new offices.

Roughly 200,000sq m of commercial building will completed over the next year or so – 2016 will be a watershed year as these new buildings are tenanted.

Other parts controlled by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority around Cathedral Square remain open rubble spaces, sometimes covered with art works or greenery. The wrecked Anglican Cathedral remains a symbol of the stasis. Evidence of a government-funded convention centre is yet to emerge.

Reminders are everywhere. Nearly every street in the east of the city has potholes or undulates from the liquefaction trapped under the asphalt. Entire red zoned neighbourhoods have gone, leaving the roads and lampposts, looking like subdivisions awaiting the houses.

Some people have done well out of cash payouts while still retaining ownership of their damaged properties, which can be sold “as is, where is.” Others feel shortchanged by shoddy repairs.

The home repair programme is about 60% completed, with some of the most difficult cases yet to be resolved. Up to 15,000 homes and possibly more are estimated to have been destroyed or are yet to be demolished.

The quality housing stock of older suburbs has been lifted as new homes are completed on bigger, stronger foundations.

Thousands of old underperforming central city commercial buildings have gone, with owners paid out. Some have relocated, others retired or taken their investment money to places like Auckland. The old aristocracy like Rich Listers Philip Carter, Antony Gough and Tim Glasson will dominate commercial property ownership for years to come

Much as many Cantabrians love to hate EQC and their insurers, the recovery of Canterbury has only been possible because of New Zealand’s high rate of insurance.

The rest of New Zealand also has cause to thank the rebuild for underpinning economic activity when other sectors eased off.

There is a long way to go yet. Construction will continue at a similar pace for the next three years at least.

c.hutch@clear.net.nz

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