We tour 'munted' Christchurch

Christchurch was hit by two major earthquakes just a few months apart.  In November of 2010 they got a 7.1-scale quake that did little visible damage and left no one dead.  On February 22 of 2011 they got hit with a 6.3-scale quake that was located closer to the surface and closer to the city.  The first quake left many buildings vulnerable to extensive damage in the second quake.  Over 30,000 buildings were damaged and 187 people died, most of them in a single building in the Central Business District--all in a matter of 22 seconds at 12:51 PM--lunch time for many, when they were outside enjoying a beautiful summer day before going back to work.  If the second quake happened 30 minutes later there is no way to estimate how many more people would have died, but it surely would have been in the hundreds.

The University of Canterbury incurred severe damage to many buildings, and we have seen the aftermath of that all around us.  We have not spent much time in central CC because there are just not as many things going on as before the earthquakes.

Two weeks ago we were were driven by a friend to the east side of CC, near the beach.  The sandy soil in that area liquified in the second quake and thousands of homes and small businesses were "red zoned" (declared unrepairable and listed for demolition).  The red zones go for entire blocks in many places, with some houses already totally gone and others waiting their turn for the wrecking crews.  The work-day timing of the second quake meant that most people were not in their homes when it happened, again greatly reducing the loss of life that day.  Our hosts (one a professor, one a high school teacher) told us incredible stories of damages and people trying to get home to see what condition their homes were in.  Because there was no cell phone service, and most roads and bridges were impassable, for many families it was several hours before they could be reunited and be assured that everyone was safe and accounted for--except of course, those 187 downtown.

Then last week we met this same couple out for dinner in a different part of the city, and we saw damage of an entirely different kind.  This area was near the Port Hills, and had many homes built on the side of hills.  Hundreds of those homes were dislodged entirely from the hillsides or left partially in place, looking like the rest of what's left could slide down at any minute.  Because they are on hillsides and in very dangerous positions for workers, many of them have been left for these 3+ years.  Many families had no choice but to just walk away and look for housing in other parts of the city without ever going back to the homes they left that morning in 2011.

All of that was a prelude to our tour today of the Central Business District, which showed us a very different kind of damaged area.  Before the quakes the CBD had 51 buildings that were at least 10 stories tall.  Of those, 36 have already been demolished or are scheduled for the wrecking ball or implosion, pending the settlement of insurance claims.  Of course, many hundreds of shorter buildings have also been torn down already or will be soon.

The most famous and loved building in the CBD was the Christchurch Cathedral, built by the Anglican Church about 150 years ago.  This is what it looked like before 2011:

This is what it looked like shortly after:

And this is what we saw today:

The fate of the cathedral is a hotly debated issue here.  The Anglican Church had it insured for $40 million.  The starting estimate to rebuild it is $200 million.  So, with that huge gap, the diocese has decided to demolish the cathedral entirely, and build another one in its place.  Congregation members and other citizens that love the cathedral are trying to find the funds to close the gap, but the diocese has said it will not put any money into rebuilding the existing cathedral--so it appears that the cathedral will come down completely in the near future.

On our tour today we learned a new word, commonly used to describe the state of Christchurch right after the second earthquake.  Being interviewed at that time, the mayor said that the city's entire infrastructure had been "munted," which was then a little-used NZ slang word for being "seriously f***ed."  The mayor's word stuck and was voted the "Word of the Year in 2011" in NZ, and is now proudly displayed on t-shirts, tea towels, and humorous post-cards readily for sale in CBD shops.

While the CBD and other parts of the city WERE munted in 2011 we have seen some encouraging signs that perhaps Christchurch can prosper again as NZ's second largest, and coolest, city.  (Even on a good day Auckland is no match for CC's charm and it's friendly people).  One of those signs in the Rebuild Container Mall in the CBD.  Lacking necessary traditional building materials, someone had the bright idea to use shipping containers as temporary structures to house cafes and shops in the CBD, in the hope of getting people to come back to the CBD to socialize and spend money.

The Container Mall is supposed to be temporary, but it's now becoming one of the best symbols for "Resilient Christchurch" and no one sees it going away any time soon--if ever.  We found it to be a lively area, with affordable shops, comfortable restaurants, and smiling people.

The jury is out as to whether Christchurch, its CBD, and the University of Canterbury can really totally recover from the devastating earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, but no one can doubt they they are giving it their best try to recover from their munting in the best and truest spirit of the Kiwi people.

Mike and Terry