Once a quake threw things about our house, upsetting our balance, we knew it was a M6 or more aftershock. We stayed seated in our lounge, then had a cup of tea, discussing although we were immigrants, having lived in Christchurch for 16 years, we & others living in Christchurch over the last 6 months, post Sept 4 Darfield Quake, had experienced a unique tragedy.
Mon 21.03.11. A month post M6.3, 22.02.11 Killer Quake, which had caused so much destruction in Christchurch, as I'd seen a lot of central Christchurch on my treks outside strangling cordons, I wanted to see east suburbs.
I drove via Dallington along New Brighton Rd & other roads to the end of Southshore spit. Of all the roads I saw that day, Dallington's were the worst hit by the Feb 22 Killer Quake. Similar destruction as the Sept 4 Darfield Quake: roads & suburbs near rivers, creeks & swamps were badly broken, with liquefaction, cracks, potholes, slumping due to lateral spreading. I didn't look at housing too much, viewing roads & road works. Liquefaction soil along the way was muddy again due to morning rains.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake trashed, brick Methodist & Presbyterian Church, Berwick St, national state of emergency. Methodist & Presbyterian Church, Berwick St would be demolished
Berwick St: Red stickered, Methodist & Presbyterian Church ghost I'd seen on Sunday near Jake's Cranford St flat was newly, steel mesh fence cordoned. Orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen began demolishing, by removing doors & hammering bricks. The Feb 22 Killer Quake had peeled off brick walls at both ends of the church nave, exposing roof space. Severe cracking on the roadside wall. Quake fallen, gable bricks had crushed a flat roofed porch, which joined the brick church to a wooden hall. The porch was filled with fallen roofing. The church would soon be demolished. (2014... For several years post quakes, Luke would rent a quake damaged house near the church demo site).
Whitmore St: Pavement portaloos. Bumpy, broken, quakemired road.
21.03.11. Feb 22 liquefaction silt & green, plastic, sewage tank, London St / Pavitt St, national state of emergency
London St where Leah taught: Roadside, quakemire heaps. Green plastic tank on Pavitt St cnr for sewage disposal. By the Village Green, a bigger, 10 000 litre, beige, plastic tank, containing water: pipe & 6 taps attached.
Plastic tank, spray-painted message:
BOIL WATER
B4 USE (Smiley face)
Canterbury District Health Board, Issue Three, 11 March 2011, two A4 pages, first page:
IMPORTANT HEALTH INFORMATION
PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION
*Boil or treat all water from taps and tankers before drinking, brushing teeth or using in food preparation. Bringing water to the boil is sufficient to kill bugs. Water needs to be boiled even if the smell or taste of chlorine is present. If you cannot boil water, treat it by adding 1 teaspoon of household bleach per 10 litres of water and leave for 30 minutes.
*Waterways are contaminated with sewage. Avoid contact with rivers, sea water, ponds, puddles or other surface water. Do not swim, paddle, fish or gather shell fish or any other food from oceans or rivers.
*In many parts of the city sewage pipes are broken and sewage has mixed with liquefaction silt. People should avoid silt if they can, particularly if they don't have running water to wash after contact. If people have to work with silt they should wear water-proof gloves, gumboots and a dust mask; shower or wash immediately afterwards; and wash clothes separately. [My troll "friend" Colin recently told me to get off my Facebook arse & dig liquefaction silt!]
*Take care when disposing of human waste. Only solid waste can go into your red bins and should be tightly wrapped in plastic. Wash your hands immediately after dealing with any human waste.
*Wash your hands or use hand sanitiser after toileting, and before and after eating and preparing food. Free hand sanitiser is available from official water tanker sites.
*If you don't have running water, make a plan to move in with a friend or relative who has running water if you get sick. When you are sick, running water (for hand washing and toileting) is much more important.
*If you are sick try to limit contact with other people, do not go to work and do not prepare food for anyone.
*Take extreme care with food - particularly with food that should be refrigerated. Dispose of smelly, slimy, mouldy or discoloured food immediately. Do not refreeze once power returns.
Please turn over for important information on GPs, pharmacies and emotional support...
That Public Health info was supplied before Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, CERA's massive bureaucracy was formed by PM John Key's NZ National govt to interfere with & oversee all sorts of NZ govt depts & Council functions regarding Canterbury earthquake recovery.
21.03.11. Beige, plastic, 10 000 litre, water tank, London St, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Canterbury District Health Board advice for quake survivors, stuck on plastic, water tank, London St, national state of emergency
London St & Stanmore Rd were gridlocked for weeks post Feb 22 Killer Quake, due to the NZDF cordon around the 4 Avenues: Bealey Ave, Fitzgerald Ave, Moorhouse Ave, Rolleston Ave, during the National State of Emergency.
21.03.11. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed Richmond Methodist Church Hall, Stanmore Rd, national state of emergency. Richmond Methodist Church Hall would be demolished
Stanmore Rd: Richmond Methodist Church Hall ghost, where Leah had taken school kids for lessons, as her London St school had no hall. Badly damaged, cracked, side wall, bricks fallen from above lancet windows, steel mesh fence cordoned. N nave wall, fallen bricks, gaping nave. Roof trusses, attic & offices exposed. Post Sept 4 Darfield Quake, wood braced, wooden board repairs on office brick wall, useless. Richmond Methodist Church Hall would soon be demolished. Rest of Stanmore Rd quakemired. Portaloos on pavements.
21.03.11. Quake trashed Richmond Methodist Church Hall (soon demolished) Stanmore Rd, national state of emergency
Petrie St: Quakemired, mud heaps roadside. Hi-Vis vested workmen fixed the street with a yellow digger, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned.
21.03.11. Hi-Vis vested workmen repairing Feb 22 liquefaction silted Petrie St, national state of emergency
North Avon Rd: Two green Superloos on pavement outside North Avon Baptist Church.
21.03.11. Green Superloos, North Avon Baptist Church, North Avon Rd, national state of emergency
North Parade: Lumpy, cracked, potholed, broken, flooded in places due to rain & burst water pipes. Shirley Boys High School ghost, damaged, school closed. Afternoon shift schooling was done at Papanui High School. CAUTION CONSTRUCTION SITE sign on school gate. Boys outside SBHS waited for a bus. SBHS carpark quakemired; repaired sinkhole; rotten liquefactioned carpets in a pile. Two workmen worked at a muddy hole in another carpark. Opp the school: 3 quake buckled, cracked driveways, wooden bridges over a stream. On the school fence, another CAUTION CONSTRUCTION SITE sign. Those signs ubiquitous post quake. Would see them for years on demolition site & construction site fences.
2021. After Shirley Boys High & Avonside Girls High were destroyed by quakes & demolitions, a new school campus would be built on liquefactioned ground at QE11 Park, New Brighton Rd, where Shirley Boys High would share new school facilities with Avonside girls High, but continue as separate schools.
21.03.11. Construction warning sign, Feb 22 quake trashed Shirley Boys High School, North Parade, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 liquefaction silted carpark, Shirley Boys High School, North Parade, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake trashed Shirley Boys High, North Parade. Students waiting for a bus to take them to shared Papanui HS, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged driveway bridges over a creek, North Pde, opp Shirley BH, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd: The Palms Mall, closed for repairs post Feb 22 Killer Quake. Bus stop bench, still gray quakemired. Pavement & gutter buckled, quakemired, red, plastic road coned. The Palms stank when I trekked past. Rotten food in supermarket stores, due to quake power cuts? Creepy feeling again, close to The Palms walls, danger feeling transferring to all malls. Crowded malls & their enclosed spaces would spook me for years. I'd wander a mall thinking of the best cover & escape route should another quake hit. Any old, brick or stone bldg with parapets, gables & roof features like chimneys, capitals, cornices, urns, pinnacles, crosses, balustrades, finials... would spook me, not only in Christchurch.
21.03.11. Feb 22 liquefaction silted bus stop, The Palms, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
Kmart door notice:
Kmart Team Notice
Dennis...
Sandra...
Heather... [phone numbers]
We will be assessing the site Monday 28th lunch time.
We will be contacting team Monday 28th - afternoon with a plan of attack.
If you are able to assist in the interim at the Riccarton store.
Any further concerns contact Dennis at number above.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake, Kmart sign, The Palms, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged New Brighton Rd, The Palms, national state of emergency
Kingsford St: Blue portaloo & blue & white non residents, prohibition sign since the Sept 4 Darfield Quake. Diggers & workmen did road repairs near Horseshoe Lake. The blue Council threat sign insulted non residents, as later NZ National govt / CERA would red zone Horseshoe Lake area post 13.06.11 Quake. Horseshoe Lake would be abandoned, sunk into Avon River swamp. Why was Horseshoe Lake near Avon River developed in the first place?
21.03.11. New Brighton Rd view, blue portaloo & non residents forbidden sign, Sept 4 & Feb 22 quake damaged Kingsford St, national state of emergency
Queensbury St: Ditto.
21.03.11. New Brighton Rd view, yellow portaloo & Feb 22 quake damaged Queensbury St, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd: Badly liquefactioned, muddy, broken, bumpy. Grey quakemire heaps roadside. 30 km/h speed limit sign. Pavements buckled.
21.03.11. Feb 22 liquefaction damaged New Brighton Rd, Dallington, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Blue portaloo by Feb 22 quake flooding, New Brighton Rd / Locksley Ave, Dallington, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd / Locksley Ave: Quakemired, flooded. Ripped up tarseal footpath heaps on Avon River bank, by Kerrs Reach. Roads had sunk during quakes by the junction, water bubbling up through New Brighton Rd patches after Avon River high tides. Later CERA would red zone Locksley Ave & long sections of New Brighton Rd by Avon River bank. Houses would be abandoned, demolished.
21.03.11. Feb 22 liquefaction muddied driveway, New Brighton Rd, Dallington, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Warning Contaminated Water sign by Avon River, Kerrs Reach, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake tilted power pole supported by concrete block, by Horseshoe Lake outlet. Avon River bank sandbagged, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd: White, plastic sandbagging along Avon River bank. Big concrete blocks supported quake tilted power poles by Horseshoe Lake outlet. WARNING CONTAMINATED WATER signs on the riverbank beside the road. Avon River, sewage polluted since the Feb 22 Killer Quake.
21.03.11. New Brighton Rd view, post Feb 22 quake repairs to Avondale / Avon River bank & side road off Avonside Rd, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd / Lake Tce Rd: Burwood School: White Cronos water tank, two 10 000 litre, green, plastic, water tanks. Quake damaged WW memorial, fallen, grey, granite obelisk.
21.03.11. Green, plastic, sewage tank & white, Cronos water tank by Feb 22 quake damaged WW memorial, Burwood School, New Brighton Rd / Lake Tce Rd, national state of emergency
Avondale Rd Bridge across Avon River: Water pump on New Brighton Rd. Avon River bank being repaired bridge side, by a red digger on the opp river bank, Avonside Dr side. Couple of years hence: Avondale Rd Bridge would be completely repaired.
21.03.11. Warning Water Contamination sign, Avon River, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. New Brighton Rd pump & view of post Feb 22 quake repairs to Avondale Rd Bridge on Avonside Dr bank of Avon River, national state of emergency
Across Avon River, Avondale roads, Like Avonside Dr & side roads, were being repaired by Council's Hi-Vis vested workers. All side roads off New Brighton Rd, between Avondale Rd Bridge & Anzac Dr, were being repaired by Hi-Vis vested workers & excavators. Tarseal stripped, new shingle already compacted. Futile, as CERA would red zone housing & roads along Avon River. Therein lay future conflict between Council & CERA. Council was busy doing repairs post Sept 4 Darfield Quake & Boxing Day Quake, then CERA, a new govt dept post Feb 22 Killer Quake, would usurp some Council functions for 5 years, blundering through Council work. Two conflicting bureaucracies: CERA's, Council's.
21.03.11. New Brighton Rd view, yellow & orange excavators repairing Feb 22 quake damaged Avonside Dr, Avon River, national state of emergency
Waterway beyond Anzac Dr, joining Avon River to Travis Wetland: Tarseal footpath, badly cracked, lumpy. Bankside slumped, cracked towards the waterway, due to lateral spreading. Two inspectors, wearing orange, Hi-Vis vests, checked the wooden jetty by the waterway.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracked & slumped footpath, waterway near New Brighton Rd / Anzac Dr crossing, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Orange, Hi-Vis vested inspectors checking Feb 22 quake tilted jetty, wetland near New Brighton Rd / Anzac Dr crossing, national state of emergency
Wainoni Rd Bridge across Avon River: Three more inspectors in orange, Hi-Vis vests were bridge inspecting. Pavement across the bridge was cracked, slumped. Large piles of sand & organic rubbish lay in the carpark by JUBILEE WALK sign. New Brighton Rd footpaths had new, compacted shingle.
21.03.11. Orange, Hi-Vis vested inspectors checking Wainoni Rd Bridge, Wainoni Rd / New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Avon River bank footpath repairs, near Wainoni Rd Bridge, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Wainoni Rd Bridge, Avon River, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake, shingle repaired Jubilee Walk, Avon River, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake Avon River rubbish, near Wainoni Rd Bridge & Jubilee Walk, New Brighton Rd, national state of emergency
New Brighton Rd: Both sides of Avon River, earthwork repairs being done to raise riverbanks, fixing riverside footpaths between Wainoni Rd Bridge & Pages Rd Bridge. e.g. Jubilee Walk past a raupo swamp. Some riverside trees & shrubs were chopped down enabling bank repairs.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Owles Tce, Avon River, national state of emergency
Pages Rd Bridge: Owles Tce side, 4 men in orange, Hi-Vis vests shirked by their vehicles with ROAD INSPECTION signs on the vehicles. They looked furtive when they saw me snapping them from the bridge. Years hence, I would still see shirking road workers. An elevated pipe on the opp Avon River bank, Wairoa St side, poured water into Avon River. There were cracks at abutment / road span joins either side of the bridge. Many houses & roads I passed that day would be red zoned by CERA.
21.03.11. Pages Rd Bridge view, Feb 22 quake effluent piped into Avon River, by 2 orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged join between abutment & bridge road spans, Pages Rd Bridge, Avon River, Owles Tce, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Pages Rd Bridge view, Feb 22 quake cracks on Avon River bank due to lateral spreading & quake damaged Owles Tce, national state of emergency
Owles Tce: Avon River bank by JUBILEE WALK sign, deeply cracked due to lateral spreading. Road: broken, bumpy, cracked, some repairs done.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake cracked Avon River bank, due to lateral spreading, Pages Rd Bridge / Owles Tce, national state of emergency
Union St to Southshore Spit: Better than broken New Brighton Rd. Side streets, relatively good condition. But there was hidden, infrastructure damage below road surfaces: broken water pipes, sewage pipes, storm water drain pipes.
Estuary Rd, Southshore Spit: Relatively OK. White Cronos water tank stood outside South New Brighton School. Post June 13 Quake damage, Estuary Rd would be ripped up to replace sewage pipes & water pipes.
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake, white, Cronos water tank, South New Brighton School, Estuary Rd, national state of emergency
Beatty St: Three blue & yellow, WASTE WAY, sewage sucker trucks sucked muck.
21.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake, blue & yellow, WASTEAWAY, sewage sucker trucks, Beatty St, national state of emergency
Rocking Horse Rd, Southshore Spit: Lived up to its name: lumps, bumps, relatively good condition. A City Care digger truck at road's end loaded quakemire by Pukeko Pl. I'd seen no pukekos since the quake. Instead of heraldic pukekos on Christchurch Coat of Arms, quakemire heaps & rampant portaloos became Christchurch quake symbols.
21.03.11. Yellow portaloo & truck removing Feb 22 liquefaction silt, Rocking Horse Rd, national state of emergency. Clifton backdrop
New Brighton, South New Brighton & Southshore roads I drove were better than broken Dallington & Burwood roads.
21.03.11. DANGER KEEP OUT, red, plastic, tape cordon. Feb 22 quake trashed, concrete brick, garden wall, Marine Pde, national state of emergency
Marine Pde: I drove back along Southshore Spit, ubiquitous WARNING CONTAMINATED WATER signs by dunes.
21.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake, NO ENTRY sign to dune walk & 2 orange / grey, HireQuip loos, New Brighton Beach carpark, Marine Pde, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Earthquake Contacts sign, Marine Pde, national state of emergency
21.03.11. Feb 22 quake damaged, concrete brick, garden wall, Marine Pde, national state of emergency
Marine Pde: 3 concrete brick, garden walls fallen, brick rubble heaps on pavement, 1 heap red, plastic taped: DANGER KEEP OUT. Near 2 portaloos in the pier carpark by the cenotaph overlooking the beach, a yellow & black EARTHQUAKE CONTACTS info sign on a power pole. Telephone contact signs were attached to power poles in many suburbs. On a blue, garden wall a white chalked message: CHRISTCHURCH WILL RISE AGAIN! LOVE EACH OTHER.
21.03.11. Post Feb 22 quake "Christchurch will rise again" garden wall sign, Marine Pde, national state of emergency
Drove home to Burnside via Queen Elizabeth 11 Dr. Bowhill Rd, Rookwood Ave Bower Ave broken. Travis Rd broken at QE11 Park & Travis Wetland. Rest of the road beyond Travis Wetland, good condition to St Bedes College. Those roads would be broken, patched, bumpy for years. I was seeing the beginnings of E suburbs neglect by Council, insurers, EQC, CERA, SCIRT. That night, One News TV featured Christchurch motorists complaining about the shocking state of quake broken roads.
22.03.11. A month post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, for an audiology appointment, I again drove the hell drive from Burnside, Heath St to Bealey Ave, which I'd driven a couple of hours post Feb 22 Killer Quake. Quakemire cleared, most roads in better condition, but Forfars St & Madras St still bad: broken, lumpy, bumpy, flooded after rains in Madras St.
Coda:
22.03.11. Minister for quake recovery Brownlee reported in The Press: "More than 320 000 tonnes of silt has been removed from our streets. And millions more tonnes of rubble have been carted from our city..." "Silt" was propaganda for grey, liquefaction mud, polluted by raw sewage. Six months later: "...500 000 tonnes of silt from liquefaction removed from properties & roads from earthquakes." CERA Earthquake Recovery Update, Sept 2011.
Seven months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, Christchurch roads would still be ruined: patches on lumpy patches, but no smooth permanent repairs. Roads I often drove were dangerous due to quake-raised, concrete & iron manholes, slumped soil, cracks, patches, potholes: Wairakei Rd, Strowan Rd, Heaton St, Madras St, Packe St, Bealey Ave, Avonside Dr, Ensors Rd, Sullivan Ave, Richardson Tce, Ferry Rd, Stanmore Rd, London St, Tuam St, St Asaph St. Many more...
Despite puffery about Council's draft central city plan, Labour MPs Dalziel & Burns would jabber about saving what was left of heritage bldgs, after 100s of demolitions (The Press 04.10.11). Imperative to sort out dangerous roads rather than heritage bldgs! In the coming year Dalziel would ride Christchurch protest bandwagons. (Green Party, Eugenie Sage ditto). Post 2011 quakes, Dalziel would oust Parker as Christchurch mayor. Sage would become Environment minister in Jacinda Ardern's NZ Labour govt.
04.10.11. Post quakes, undertaker's pond drained of sludge, Wairakei Rd
04.10.11. Wairakei Rd: After rains, near home, I watched a sucker truck sucking sludge from an undertaker's pond. All those quake broken, underground pipes, water, sewage, drains, made a sludgy mess, stirred up by heavy rains. Multiply that scenario 1 000s of times: Christchurch in deep shit.
18.05.12. The Press would report 15 months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, that CERA confirmed Parklands East zoning would stay green-blue / TC3. Who would buy damaged / repaired houses on liquefactioned land?
CERA would also belatedly green zone some Port Hills houses, with 1 300 white zone houses in the Port Hills still to be zoned properly.
Southshore houses estuary side of Rocking Horse Rd would be red zoned. Houses dune side of Rocking Horse Rd would be green zoned. Dithering CERA would take months to do zoning, causing anguish for home owners waiting for slow CERA zonings in Port Hills, Parkland, Southshore.
*Trekked Berwick St, London St, Stanmore Rd, Petrie St, North Avon Rd, North Pde, New Brighton Rd, Owles Tce, Estuary Rd, Beatty St, Rockinghorse Rd, Marine Pde, Wairakei Rd. 75 snaps.
Facebook:
London St: Leah started teaching again, but there's no school water nor sewage connections. Portaloos only. This morn Wed, I drove Luke to his Sullivan Ave tech, first time since the quake. CBD cordoned, still with cops & NZDF soldiers. No flow in outer roads. Must find "quiet" roads. Lots of silt, potholes, lumps, detours. Portaloos still on roadsides. Demolitions all over Christchurch during the National State of Emergency. 16 Mar 8:23am.
@Sheila. Christchurch rebuild will take years. 18 Mar 1:26pm.
Luke off to Mackenzie Country this weekend with girlfriend's family, near Lake Ohau & Mt Cook. Jake's Under The Red Verandah restaurant was demolished on Mon. New smaller version revamping, but hopefully working soon. Prince William arrived in Chch for the memorial service. 18 Mar 1:30pm.
@Janet. Leah started school again on Mon, very dusty, quakemire surrrounds the school. Portaloos are used, there's no sewage & water connections. Leah takes her own boiled water to school. Big, green, plastic, sewage tank outside school where anyone in the neighbourhood dumps crap. 10 000 litre, plastic, water tank & 6 taps nearby, with instructions to wash hands, boil water.
Leah goes down Pavitt St to Richmond School where they have better toilets. Took 24 seconds for huge chunks of Chch to become Third World.
Our Burnside house is OK, thankful we're better off than many. Roads bumpy, lumpy, must avoid gridlock if possible anywhere near the CBD cordon. Unfortunately Leah's school is near the CBD, so she hassles with daily traffic jams, detours. 18 Mar 4:11pm.
Month post quake: BIG M5.1 aftershock last night, shook our Heath St rental. Luke shaken by a smaller quake near Twizel in the Alps. Only 2 Chch libraries open, South & Bishopdale. I trek streets, newspapers & media reports too general. National State of Emergency another week. 21 Mar 7:26am.
@Averil, David, Andrew. NZ's on the Pacific / Australian tectonic plates, lots of seismic activity now in Christchurch. We've had 3 big quakes in 6 months, many aftershocks. Seismologists still trying to work out if "new" faults are joined or not. Now talking of a "trampoline effect."
Libraries, some open. Computer searches for books, still down. 22 Mar 12:52pm.
@Averil. Australia is in the centre of their plate. NZ is on the edge of 2 plates, causing volcanic & quake activity. 24 Mar 10:38am.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Southshore decision devastating (The Press / Stuff Co).
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