Red Zone

“You know you are in Christchurch, if you dress up with a hard hat and a safety vest to go to town”. In September 2010 the city was hit by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. About six month later in February 2011 the already weakened city was struck again by an earthquake of magnitude 6.3. Several “smaller” once followed since then. Having survived the first shockwave with only property damage and minor injuries, the second quake caused 185 direct deaths and major damage all around the city. Still today the city center, the red zone, is closed for the public and all the buildings are scheduled for deconstruction.

I was never in a city before that heavily marked by a natural disaster, so I didn’t really know what will await us. Walking through the city provides you with the expected signs, such as damaged houses, wavy streets and lots of potholes as well as spaces left empty after the former buildings were demolished. However, what left the strongest impression on me were the vast areas which appear normal at the first sight. However, strolling through those neighborhoods you notice that plants are not cut back anymore, the angles of the houses are slightly odd and most important there are just not enough people around. Having a closer look the vast number of abandoned properties get apparent and you get a feeling how strongly influenced the social life in the city are.

Although quite some people decided to leave the town, after the second earthquake, it is great to see how the communities strive to get back to a normal life and start to rebuild the city. Initiatives like Gapfiller were started, eight month after the destruction happened the re:start shopping area was opened in the centre and although the discussions are still ongoing, plans for recreating the downtown are developing. It will be interesting to see in a few years how a city can regrow after such an devastating event.