Saturday, May 14, 2011

Killer Quake. Peterborough St, Motel & Flats Damages

Peterborough St accommodation focus. 11.05.11. During my Peterborough St trekking post 22 Feb, M6.3 Killer Quake, I saw deserted City Oasis Motel & a deserted block of 8 flats liquefactioned by the quake. Peterborough St had recently escaped the CBD cordoned red zone, guarded by NZDF soldiers & cops. Peterborough St & many of its bldgs were blitzed by the quake. Some were demolished or part demolished.

Eleven weeks post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, yellow stickered, City Oasis was quakemired, showing signs of fast evacuation, mess strewn: An axe, pots, pans, crockery, bedding, clothes, mail scattered. City Oasis would be demolished.

Yellow stickered, the 8 flats had settled, tilted into quakemire. Looking through windows & mud spattered, glass doors of a ground floor flat, I saw crockery in the kitchen sink, rotting, jumbled furniture, green seedlings growing in the rotten, silted lounge carpet. Outside garden furniture, stuck in quakemire. The 8 flats would survive the quakes.

Like other ghosts I saw post quakes, I felt the creepy fear of evacuated people, seeped into wasted bldgs, belongings, mud. Fear of brittle concrete, bent bldgs, souls gone. Skeletons awaited demolitions.

Gate post sign:

DANGER
DO NOT ENTER

Yellow sticker:

SIGNIFICANT SETTLEMENT & INTERNAL
CONTAMINATION FROM LIQUEFACTION.
LEANING GARDEN WALL HAZARD


11.05.11. Feb 22 quake, liquefactioned City Oasis Motel, Peterborough St. City Oasis Motel would be demolished





















11.05.11. Feb 22 quake, block of 8 liquefactioned flats, Peterborough St. The flats would survive the quakes


11.05.11. USAR / TF graffiti, liquefactioned flats, Peterborough St. C meant CLEAR, no bodies. The flats would survive the quakes



11.05.11. Feb 22 quake, posties & USAR / TF graffiti, liquefactioned flats, Peterborough St. C meant CLEAR, no bodies. The flats would survive the quakes




11.05.11. Feb 22 quake, liquefactioned flat gate & beige portaloo, Peterborough St, Christchurch. The flats would survive the quakes



















*Trekked Peterborough St. 44 snaps.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.

3 comments:

  1. Hello, My name is Ari.
    I was viewing a KMZ file on Google Earth that had photos from our trip to N.Z in 2010. Suddenly I sae that the Motel we stayed in wasn't there anymore. I did some searcing and found your post. I was saddened to see that it was destroyed by the earthquake. Here is a link to some photos from the city and the motel.
    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153282913822124.1073741833.589337123&type=1&l=23ec6a44fc

    ReplyDelete