Two years after the Christchurch earthquakes, the city council has only finished detailed assessments of about half its community facilities, and nasty surprises are still cropping up.
The basement of the "Price Waterhouse" building after demolition after the Christchurch earthquakes...
“Jog on, jog on, the footpath way. And cheerily hent the stile, A merry heart goes all the way, Your sad tires in a mile.” — “A Winter’s Tale,” Sheakespeare. Such is t…
Nearly two years' after Christchurch's February earthquake and almost 6 months after the blueprint for the city centre was revealed, many questions remain about how much it will cost and who will pay for it.
The Canterbury earthquakes caused huge amounts of damage to Christchurch and the surrounding area and presented a very challenging situation for both insurers and claimants. While tourism has suffered significant losses as a result, particularly due to the subsequent decrease in visitor numbers, the Canterbury region was very fortunate to have high levels of insurance coverage. This report, based on data gathered from tourism operators on the ground in Canterbury, looks at how this sector has been affected by the quakes, claims patterns, and the behaviour and perceptions of tourism operators about insurance.
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.
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A support group is being credited for helping Cantabrians settle in Nelson after escaping the earthquakes.
Christchurch airport's annual profit has fallen 6 per cent after losing nearly half a million passengers following the earthquakes.
Sandwiched between the White Hart Hotel and the Universal Boot Depot at 223 and 225 High Street, was the business founded by Mr James Freeman, pastry cook and caterer. After browsing through Messrs…
The Earthquake Commission has been labelled obstructive after it demanded 24 thousand dollars to provide documents under an Official Information Act request.
Professor Andrew Barrie discusses an exhibition that comes up with ways to keep Christchurch communities together after the loss of so many earthquake damaged parish churches.
After six years leading Christchurch, three of them since the first Canterbury earthquake, Bob Parker is packing up his office and hanging up the Mayoral chains today.
A group of frustrated Christchurch homeowners is vowing to keep holding their insurer accountable after making limited progress with outstanding claims for earthquake damage.
The back of the facade of the Excelsior Hotel, preserved after the demolition of the hotel. It is being supported by wooden bracing and shipping containers.
The back of the facade of the Excelsior Hotel, preserved after the demolition of the hotel. It is being supported by wooden bracing and shipping containers.
A property expert says a dramatic shift in the population north and west of Christchurch after the earthquakes has serious implications for council's rate take.
Today is census day; the first nationwide stocktake in seven years after the census was called off in 2011 because of the February earthquake in Christchurch.
Blog of Sandy Lees, a genealogist, taphophiliac, and ephemera collector. Reflects her interest in Canterbury history. Includes a section on the insurance woes the blogger had after the Christchurch earthquakes.
Dear Father and Mother, l arrived here all safe on the 23rd of September, after a splendid voyage of 94 days without a single storm. I enjoyed the voyage very much and was kindly treated by everybo…
A Christchurch catering company has joined forces with the City Mission to tackle what is being described as a new era of poverty after the Canterbury earthquakes.
Full of weeds after nearly two years of neglect. First time I have been in Victoria Square in over two years.
The Canterbury region of New Zealand experienced four earthquakes greater than MW 6.0 between September 2010 and December 2011. This study employs system dynamics as well as hazard, recovery and organisational literature and brings together data collected via surveys, case studies and interviews with organisations affected by the earthquakes. This is to show how systemic interactions and interdependencies within and between industry and geographic sectors affect their recovery post-disaster. The industry sectors in the study are: construction for its role in the rebuild, information and communication technology which is a regional high-growth industry, trucking for logistics, critical infrastructure, fast moving consumer goods (e.g. supermarkets) and hospitality to track recovery through non-discretionary and discretionary spend respectively. Also in the study are three urban centres including the region’s largest Central Business District, which has been inaccessible since the earthquake of 22 February 2011 to the time of writing in February 2013. This work also highlights how earthquake effects propagated between sectors and how sectors collaborated to mitigate difficulties such as product demand instability. Other interacting factors are identified that influence the recovery trajectories of the different industry sectors. These are resource availability, insurance payments, aid from central government, and timely and quality recovery information. This work demonstrates that in recovering from disaster it is crucial for organisations to identify what interacting factors could affect their operations. Also of importance are efforts to reduce the organisation’s vulnerability and increase their resilience to future crises and in day-to-day operations. Lastly, the multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the recovery and resilience of organisations and industry sectors after disaster, leads to a better understanding of effects as well as more effective recovery policy.
A photograph of the former site of Doug Sexton's house at 378 Oxford Terrace. Sexton's house was demolished after his land was zoned Red.
The Earthquake Recovery Minister, Gerry Brownlee, says he is confident that Fletchers is vigilant about fraud and is doing what it can to prevent it in the Christchurch rebuild after accusations from New Zealand First.
Experts trying to restore Christchurch's busted sewerage system have faced up to concerned residents about what happened when raw sewage was allowed to flow directly into the sea in the months after the February earthquake.
20130827_2654_1D3-24 Corner Colombo/Hereford Street, Christchurch The same view as the previous photo. Building demolished after the earthquake of 2011! #4156
A photograph of the former site of Siobhan Murphy's house at 436 Oxford Terrace. Murphy's house was demolished after her land was zoned Red. Grass has grown over the site.
Roger Sutton, former chief executive of the the power lines company, Orion and since June 2011 Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury Earhquake Recovery Authority, is shown in a straitjacket, raving. An unseen interviewer asks him how it feels after 'two years in the job'. Roger Sutton's work in leading the Earthquake Authority after the February earthquake was extremely stressful, considering the magnitude of the task. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
After the shock and dust settled from the earthquakes, two friends, Helen Solomons and Wendy Riley, felt so strongly over the loss of the city's historic heart, they decided to put their skills to use and create this living tribute to it on the web.