The earthquakes

Christchurch was struck by a series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, the worst of which occurred at 12.51pm on Tuesday 22 February 2011.

The city was brought to its knees, with damage to nearly every building in the city.  185 people died in the earthquake, with many thousands injured.

In the immediate days and weeks following the earthquake many households had no water, power, or sewerage.  Many had nowhere to live, as their homes had been so badly damaged that they were now unsafe or unliveable.

In the following months many thousands of homes were declared "red zoned", which basically meant that they were deemed to have such severe land damage that it was not economical to repair.  In effect, whole suburbs are in the process of being wiped off the map and turned into parkland.

The centre of the city was cordoned off by the authorities immediately, as tall buildings had collapsed and many others were at risk of falling down also.  The cordon shrunk slowly, bit by bit, as the buildings were either demolished or made safe.  As I write this, in December 2012, nearly two years later, the inner city cordon is still in place, with large areas of the inner city still inaccessible.  Nearly half of all the inner city buildings have been demolished.  Most businesses had to relocate to the suburbs, which has had a major impact on many people.

Tourism has understandably suffered during all of this turmoil, and a lot of the traditional "things to do" in Christchurch were simply not able to be done for a long time. Locals turned to the simple pleasures of a walk along the beach, or  taking the kids to the park instead.  Community organisations stepped in with family days, which helped make life a little better for many children.

However, nearly two years on, there is now a huge amount to do in Christchurch.  Most of its attractions have reopened and a lot of new ones have also appeared.  There are so many events on that you would struggle to experience them all.  Every weekend my children and I have a huge choice of things to do - shall we go to a school fair, or maybe to a free music event in the gardens?  Or what about the beach?  Or should we enjoy one of the many walks in the Port Hills?  Maybe we'll splash out and go ice skating, or ten pin bowling, or climbing at the Roxx?  Skate boarding, cycling, swimming?  Check out some history at Ferrymead?  Maybe we'll go and boogie down at the Gap Filler's Dance-O-Mat?

I've taken a small break from this blog since the earthquakes but am now back as I realise that there are plenty of things to do in Christchurch and I can't wait to get out there with my kids and friends and experience them all!

Have fun!