Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Canterbury dairy farmer Heath Smith (right), and assistant farm manager Tom Clark, both noticed an increased noise followed by absolute silence from the animals around the farm just before the large 4 September earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Canterbury dairy farmer Heath Smith (right) and assistant farm manager Tom Clark, both noticed an increased noise followed by absolute silence from the animals around the farm just before the large 4 September earthquake".
Christchurch man Tom Brittenden tells Simon Mercep of the scenes of chaos around Cashel Mall with a story of both survival and tragedy.
The Alps and ranges around New Zealand are now laden with snow yet while most of us are hunkering down and keeping warm, some in Canterbury are still having to get on within a broken city following this year's earlier devastating earthquakes. Bryan began by speaking to Major Mike Allwright of the Salvation Army and followed up with Lyttleton musician Lindon Puffin. Bryan also spoke to Christine Parker from the Eastern suburb of Aranui and Regina Nyadani who lives in central Christchurch with her family.
Cats all over the world hunt wild animals and can contribute to the extinction of threatened species. In New Zealand, around half of all households have at least one cat. When cats live close to a natural area, such as a wetland, they may have impacts on native species. A previous study on the movements and hunting behaviour of domestic (house) cats around the Travis Wetland, Christchurch, New Zealand during 2000-2001 raised concerns about the effects of cats on the local skink population, as skinks were a frequent prey item. My study is a comparison to the prior study, to determine if impacts have changed alongside changes in human populations in the area post-earthquake. The domestic cat population in the area was estimated by a household survey in March-April 2018. For a 6 month period from March-September 2018, 26 households recorded prey brought home by their 41 cats. During April-July 2018, 14 cats wore Global Positioning System (GPS) devices for 7 days each to track their movements. Skink abundance was measured with pitfall trapping over 20 days in February 2018. There were more households in the area in 2018 than there were in 2000, but the numbers of cats had decreased. In the 196 ha study area around Travis Wetland, the domestic cat population was estimated at 429 cats, down from the previous 494. Most of the cats were free roaming, but the majority had been desexed and many were mostly seen at home. A total of 42 prey items were reported from 26 households and 41 cats over 6 months. Of these, 62% were rodents, 26% were exotic birds, and 12% were native birds. There were no native skinks, other mammals, or other vertebrates such as fish and amphibians (invertebrates were not included in this study). Eight male and six female cats were tracked by GPS. Home range sizes for the 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs) ranged from 1.34 to 9.68 ha (mean 4.09 ha, median 3.54 ha). There were 9/14 (64%) cats that entered the edge of the wetland. Males had significantly larger home range areas at night and in general compared with females. However, age and distance of the cat’s household to the wetland did not have a significant effect on home range size and there was no significant correlation between home range size and prey retrieved. In 20 days of skink trapping, 11 Oligosoma polychroma were caught. The estimated catch rate was not significantly different from an earlier study on skink abundance in Travis Wetland. The apparently low abundance of skinks may have been the result of successful wetland restoration creating less suitable skink habitat, or of other predators other than cats. In the future, increased education should be provided to the public about ways to increase wildlife in their area. This includes creating lizard friendly habitat in their gardens and increasing management for cats. Generally, only a few cats bring home prey often, and these select cats should be identified in initial surveys and included in further studies. In New Zealand, until management programmes can target all predators in urban areas, domestic cats could stay out at night and inside during the day to help decrease the abundance of rodents at night and reduce the number of birds and lizards caught during the day.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Barriers around earthquake-damaged buildings, Madras Street, between St Asaph and Tuam Streets".
A video of an interview with Graham Price, about the superloo industry in Christchurch. Price talks about servicing portable toilets around Christchurch after the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The interview is part of the 'Spilling the Beans' video series which examines the extraordinary lives of ordinary people in Christchurch.
A video of an interview with Prime Minister John Key about several topical issues. One of these issues is the housing crisis in Christchurch. Key talks about fast tracking the release of land in Christchurch, making sure there are enough resources in the city for building, and working with the Christchurch City Council around consenting. He also talks about the possibility of the National Party winning the Christchurch East by-election.
The entrance to the Christchurch Casino. On the fencing around the Casino is a sign that reads "Casino Opening 8pm Thursday May 26th".
The entrance to the Christchurch Casino. On the fencing around the Casino is a sign that reads "Casino Opening 8pm Thursday May 26th".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "80 year-old Evan Ross from Richmond, Christchurch, is pictured looking around the destruction in the city".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "80 year-old Evan Ross from Richmond, Christchurch, is pictured looking around the destruction in the city".
The minister for Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee, is refusing to intervene and force the Canterbury regional council, to loosen rules around log burners in Christchurch.
The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission has tried to determine exactly who should have put a cordon around a central Christchurch building identified as an earthquake risk.
A painted piano that was part of the Painted Piano project organised by Gap Filler. This was one of the 3 painted pianos placed around Christchurch.
Damage to the Library Chambers (former Christchurch Public Library) where cracks are clearly visible on the brick walls. The footpath around the building has been cordoned off.
A water tank outside a New World supermarket providing residents with clean water. The earthquake caused major damage to sewer pipes and pump stations in and around Christchurch.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Teams of building inspectors gathered at the Linwood Service Centre before heading into the eastern suburbs en masse. Movement around Dallington Terrace was varied. The Medway Street footbridge from River Road to Avonside Drive".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Schools around Christchurch return after a week off due to the earthquake. Banks Avenue School is situated in one of the worst hit areas. Bradley Farrant, aged 10, on patrol allows Shaima Rabani, aged 10, to cross".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Schools around Christchurch return after a week off due to the earthquake. Banks Avenue School is situated in one of the worst hit areas. Bradley Farrant, aged 10, on patrol allows Shaima Rabani, aged 10, to cross".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Shoreham Courts, City Council owned flats on Admirals Way in New Brighton are on an island of isolation with no water or sewerage although those around them are unaffected".
Some of the recent aftershocks located around Banks Peninsula since the 7.1 earthquake have resulted in renewed hot springs activity with the distinct sulphurous smells being the result of deep seated water reaching the surface. Known hot springs are located at Motukarara, Rapaki Bay, Heathcote Valley, and Purau. You can see the distant crater r...
Shows a man exhausted after a weekend of watching the All Blacks playing Ireland on TV. His wife understands the frustration of Christchurch residents waiting too long for repairs to properties. Context: Refers to frustrating delays in getting earthquake-related repairs done in Christchurch, this in large part due to slowness of insurance claims and permissions. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
Another city walk around, this time with my brother-in-law from Auckland. Also went to the Quake City exhibition in the city organised by the Canterbury Museum. First fine day for a while.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "New Zealand's Governor-General Anand Satyanand and his wife Susan Satyanand visited sites around earthquake stricken Canterbury today. Lady Susan Satyanand looks through a window of a classroom at badly affected Halswell Primary School".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Aftermath of the earthquake in Christchurch where the cleanup has begun. Shoreham Courts, City Council owned flats on Admirals Way in New Brighton are an island of isolation with no water or sewerage although all around them have. Lorraine Burrows, left, her son, Jamie, 8, right, and Charllisa Sutton-Taylor, centre".
Taken as the severity of the situation began to sink in to most of the people wandering around. Police, Fire and other emergency personal showed a fantastic response to how they dealt with the situation they had.
Church bells tolled around the country at exactly 12.51 this afternoon - one week on from the deadly Christchurch earthquake, which may have claimed as many as 240 lives.
The first report into the damage done to three large buildings in the Christchurch earthquake is recommending urgent steps be taken around the country to strengthen buildings with stairwells.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Members of the Red Cross civil defence response team and South Canterbury Police have been in Christchurch helping with the earthquake clean up. Pictured from left are Andy Todd, Ken Weavers and Anna Munro. They are doing welfare checks around the Tai Tapu area".