When the Canterbury earthquakes brought about the destruction of almost all of the buildings in central Christchurch, it created a unique opportunity for an insight into the past.
Misko Cubrinovski is interested how the ground and the structures on - and in - it behave during an earthquake.
Nine to Noon continues to look at who's in the running to head up our biggest cities after local elections in October, with a focus today on the 11 candidates vying to be mayor of Christchurch. Three-term mayor Lianne Dalziel announced last July she'd be stepping down as mayor, having overseen nearly a decade's worth of the city's rebuild following the devastating earthquakes. The two major contenders for the role are Burwood city councillor Phil Mauger and former Canterbury District Health Board chief executive David Meates. Other contenders include the city's Wizard, a coffee boss, pro-gun pastor and a candidate who's stood in every election since 1971. For more, Kathryn is joined by David Williams, the South Island correspondent for Newsroom.co.nz.
What does leadership look like in a disaster? David compares Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown's leadership this week with how Bob Parker and Lianne Dalziel coped with the Christchurch earthquakes and terror attacks. He looks at how current Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger's council is faring and whether reality meets the rhetoric and what's happened to the city's Metro Sports facility, one of the anchor projects in the rebuild.
The government has announced hundreds of new carparks it hopes will solve the ongoing issues at Christchurch Hospital.
Parking was significantly reduced after the earthquakes - forcing patients, visitors and staff to park far away and walk, or catch a shuttle to the hospital.
The government's pledging a new building and extension of staff car-parking. Sally Murphy reports.
Christchurch has its own social superhero and he's gone cap in hand to the council for funding. The self-styled lycra-clad superhero, known only at 'Flat Man', has been dropping care packages to people since the 2011 Canterbury earthquake. He also wants to be able to help schoolkids and anxious and stressed residents through their troubles. And to do this, he's now asking the Christchurch City Council for funding. He joins us now, and says "a cape is a must".
The quake outcasts, who were uninsured at the time, will receive 80 percent of the pre-earthquake value of their homes. Three of them tell John Campbell how they've been living in limbo.
A Christchurch resthome under stress after the earthquakes is being blamed for systemic failures that ended in a frail elderly woman dying.
For the first time in six years, music has filled Christchurch's Town Hall, which suffered significant damage in the February 2011 earthquake.
A fruit and vegetable co-operative in Canterbury that started with just 140 members has grown to more than two thousand members in the three years since the region's earthquakes.
The names of each individual killed by the Christchurch earthquake were read one after the other at a memorial service to commemorate the quake's seventh anniversary today.
A lawyer who is suing Southern Response on behalf of earthquake claimants says he was intimidated by private investigators for another government agency in 2013. Southern Response is in charge of settling the outstanding quake claims of former AMI customers in Christchurch, but is now under investigation by the public sector watchdog, the State Services Commission. The Commission is looking at whether standards of integrity and conduct for state servants have been breached in its hiring of security company, Thompson and Clark. Southern Response says it hired the firm in 2014 to assess the level of risk some customers posed to staff. Lawyer Grant Shand tells Guyon Espiner he's waiting to see the results of the inquiry.
People who've bought houses in Canterbury since the September 2010 earthquake and are still battling with insurance companies over repairs, have been told that if they want to take the matter to court, today is their last chance. Earthquake claims specialist Lisa Taylor from the law firm Anthony Harper joins us.
A huge milestone in the rebuild of the Christchurch Cathedral.
Twelves years since the Canterbury earthquakes caused extensive damage to the building, community leaders and project managers have gathered inside the cathedral this morning for the first time since the quakes.
It also marks the completion of stablisation phase of the project.
Our reporter Adam Burns went along.
A new Bill looks to make life easier for people affected by major disasters, following the human disaster created by shortcomings of the Earthquake Commission in its response to the Christchurch earthquakes.
Is Christchurch about to dethrone Wellington as the country's new capital of cool? Locals say Otautahi is becoming a hipper, more culturally vibrant place after it was devastated by earthquakes more than a decade ago. University students are coming in their droves, with the city offering affordability and an abundance of things to do, Adam Burns reports.
The Ngai Tahu High Court case against the Crown over freshwater and Christchurch marking the 14th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake.
Earthquake bus survivor, Mike Ardagh - Christchurch Hospital, Reporter Erina O'Donohue live from Christchurch, Where to obtain water, Murray McCully thanks international community, Cowles Stadium welfare centre closed, Man escapes from 12th floor of Forsyth Barr building, Aussie medics set up field hospital, Schools need significant rebuilding and Fourteen supermarkets closed in Christchurch.
John Key wants inquiry into collapse of buildings; Police update on latest from Christchurch emergency; Cordon update; More budget cuts in store after Christchurch earthquake; Attention turns to shape of new Christchurch CBD; Clifton Hills residents able to go home after evacuations; Quake Minister says ten thousand homes may be written off.
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.
A decision on the future of Christchurch's red zoned land could be made within a year. That's the hope of the man at the helm of Regenerate Christchurch, one of two organisations charged with taking over the city's rebuild from the Earthquake Recovery Authority, which shuts its doors in just three days.
Three years on from the earthquakes of 2011, Census data now confirms massive changes to the face and shape of Christchurch.
Wellington businesses are being encouraged to work with their counterparts in Christchurch to help with post-earthquake rebuild projects.
Police have named three more victims killed in the Christchurch earthquake, with more names expected to be released shortly.
The cordon in central Christchurch that has been in place since Saturday's earthquake has not been lifted as expected.
A proof-reading error from the Earthquake Recovery Minister's office has caused ructions at the Christchurch City Council today.
The Christchurch Casino reopened its doors last night for the first time since the February 22nd earthquake.
Our Christchurch reporter Rachel Graham travelled to Japan, with the support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, to find out.
Some of Christchurch's earthquake damaged red-zone land is another step closer to having some long term decisions made about its future. Today the Minister of Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Megan Woods, formally handed over ownership of 70 hectares of land to the Christchurch City Council. The land gifted to the council is in the coastal suburbs of Southshore, South Brighton and Brooklands, where residents have been waiting almost a decade to find out what the future holds for their area. Rachel Graham reports
Both of Christchurch's big cathedrals were destroyed in the earthquakes. Their fates have been very different, and only one will rise again.