13 November 2011

Christchurch after the earthquake

Cristchurch is still far away from a full recovery after the earthquakes hit. Lots of areas are closed, even if the houses look ok, people are not allowed to access their properties, and downtown you see a lot of cranes trying to hold up crooked, leaning high rise buildings.
The Christchurch Cathedral is not visible anymore, as you can´t access that area at all. In the meantime, containers were set up, glass fronts put into them, and shops and cafes are now set in containers. It´s just an interim solution, but it does look quite hip and trendy, just making the best out of that tough situation for all the shops.
I always considered New Zealand one of the safest havens to be, without nuclear power, not interesting enough in terms of natural resources for bigger countries to fight over, not a lot of people living there, it always seemed paradise. But one of the major falts of the earth crust runs along just under Christchurch. No tremors at all while I was there, and I hope that a desaster like this won´t happen here too soon again.
Cris and Tish own a property about 30 minutes north of Christchurch, and their house, road or land had not been affected at all by the quake luckily. They turned it into home for quite a lot of their Christchurch friends who had lost their houses and belongings after the catastrophe.

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