*CERA Regime. June 13, M6.3 Quake. Red Zone, Ghost Zone, Christchurch CBD

North CBD focus. Wed 08.06.11. Fifteen weeks post 22.02.11, M6.3 Killer Quake, I parked my car in the red zone, ghost zone, on Manchester St, as Manchester St red zone was opened a bit more by CERA, from Peterborough St inwards to the CBD, including some of Cambridge Tce. CERA would take months to open the CBD, bit by cordoned bit. Over the next 2 years, I would trek CERA's piecemeal, reopened CBD, cordons galore.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake damaged garage & house, Manchester St, nr Salisbury St crossing

l also wanted to see some of Colombo St, former red zone, which was opened a bit by Christchurch Town Hall & Kilmore St going to Victoria St. I'd already trekked Peterborough St, which joined the two bits of opened, fence cordoned, red zone I wanted to see.


08.06.11. Quake damaged houses, Manchester St, nr Peterborough St crossing


08.06.11. Fallen fence cordon. Post Feb 22 quake demolition site & Sept 4 & Feb 22 quake damaged housing, Manchester St / Peterborough St. The housing would be demolished post June 13 quake


08.06.11. Quake trashed house, Manchester St / Peterborough St. The house would be demolished post June 13 quake


08.06.11. Post Feb 22 quake demolition site, Manchester St / Peterborough St

The former National State of Emergency Civil Defence & later CERA made trashed bldgs safe, either by part demolition or full demolition, then opened bits of the red zone, by reducing cordons, from the 4 Avenues inwards to the city centre, for people to safely view & grieve. I'd already seen CTV ruin, red zone, where 115 people died (ruin demolished). It was time to see where 18 people died at collapsed PGC multi-storey, red zone, Cambridge Tce.


08.06.11. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Feb 22 quake, red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, Manchester St / Kilmore St


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 & Feb 22 quake damaged bldgs, incl part demolished Repertory Theatre right, red zone, Kilmore St. Repertory Theatre would be demolished


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, USAR / TF graffiti on business door, red zone, Kilmore St / Manchester St. C meant Clear, no bodies. The bldg would be demolished.

Manchester St: Snapped ghosts & demolition sites I'd already seen between Salisbury St & Peterborough St, where the steel mesh fence cordon had shrunk into the CBD red zone, down to Avon River.

Taiwan USAR / TF graffiti was spray-painted on business bldgs & pavements. USAR / TF teams called themselves Task Force, TF, but I preferred the abbreviation USAR, more descriptive of their job, Urban Search & Rescue.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, liquefactioned, red stickered, St Luke's Close, red zone, Manchester St


08.06.11. White, plastic tape, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red stickered St Luke's Cl & quake trashed St Luke's Anglican Church, red zone, Manchester St. St Lukes would be demolished post June 13 quake


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed St Luke's Anglican Church, red zone, Manchester St / Kilmore St. St Lukes would be demolished post June 13 quake


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post Feb 22 quake, house demolition site, opp St Luke's Anglican Church, red zone, Manchester St


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Wooden bell tower, Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed St Luke's Anglican Church, red zone, Manchester St / Kilmore St. St Lukes would be demolished post June 13 quake. The white, wooden bell tower would survive the quakes


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed St Luke's Anglican Church, red zone, Manchester St / Kilmore St. St Lukes would be demolished post June 13 quake


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed bldgs, red zone, seen from St Luke's, Manchester St / Kilmore St. The trashed roadside bldgs & BNZ high rise behind would be demolished

Manchester St / Kilmore St crossing: By the steel mesh fence cordon, I snapped St Luke's Anglican Church ghost, damaged by the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, trashed by the Feb 22 Killer Quake. Greystone gables fell in the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, but Feb 22 Killer Quake shook big holes in the nave greystone walls & chomped big chunks off chancel & apse greystone walls, like a bomb strike. The roof held up, due to strong, wooden arches. St Luke's would be demolished post June 13 Quake. Only the wooden bell tower, painted white, would survive the quakes.


08.06.11. Manchester St view, Feb 22 quake deserted Kilmore St, looking E towards Fire Service cordon, red zone


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, blue portaloo, yellow, Hi-Vis vested, EQC inspector, red zone, Kilmore St


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, liquefactioned Cancer Society Centre, red zone, Manchester St


Manchester St / Kilmore St: Traffic deserted. Kilmore St steel mesh fence cordoned, Town Hall side. E on the Fire Service bldg side, 2 EQC inspectors wearing yellow, Hi-Vis vests entered a Kilmore St house.

Manchester St: Cancer Society Centre ghost was liquefactioned, plastic daffodils strewn on a muddy floor inside, concrete curb bent, mud on the pavement & by front wall & glass doors.

08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed bldgs, red zone, Manchester St, nr Cambridge Tce crossing. The trashed bldgs & PWC high rise behind would be demolished


08.06.11. White, plastic tape, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, Manchester St neighbouring bldgs to the PGC demolished bldg, red zone. Front bldg would be demolished

Manchester St: Across the road, I snapped two bldgs damaged by the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, trashed by the Feb 22 Killer Quake. A double, steel mesh fence cordon by Manchester St Bridge stopped access to the red zone CBD, high rise, ghost zone, where no birds sang.

08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce view across Manchester St Bridge of high rise hotels: Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel middle left, would survive the quakes. Hotel Grand Chancellor left, BNZ right & foreground bldgs would be demolished

EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT Manchester St / Cambridge Tce: Through steel mesh fence cordons I saw PGC demolition site, sanitized, flattened rubble, across Cambridge Tce from Retour Restaurant ghost. Two orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen slouched on PGC rubble. No respect for the dead.


08.06.11. EXTREME DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, PGC bldg demolition site, red zone, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce. 18 people died when the PGC bldg collapsed. All bldgs in the pic, incl Ernst & Young centre, would be demolished

Victorians & Edwardians got it wrong with Christchurch greystone & red brick churches fallen apart in quakes. The Press commentators talked of "Mother Nature" being responsible for quakes, thus excusing planners, surveyors, architects, engineers, builders, any human mistakes buried under red zone, demolition rubble. There was nothing "Mother Nature" nurturing about people dying in the Feb 22 Killer Quake.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Theosophy bldg, red zone, Cambridge Tce. The bldg degenerated in later quakes & would be demolished

Cambridge Tce: Deserted Avon River bank. Snapped Theosophy ghost & Oxford Tce Baptist Church ghost, damaged by the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, trashed by the Feb 22 Killer Quake, across Avon River. Theosophy bldg would be demolished. On the red zone river bank, Oxford Tce side, high rise ghosts loomed, steel mesh fence cordoned riverside. Centennial Pool ghost: we'd swam there pre-quakes. Centennial Pool would be demolished for the Margaret Mahy Family Playground.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake demolition site, red zone, Peterborough St / Colombo St


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, demolition sites, isolated bldg, red zone, Colombo St, between Peterborough St & Kilmore St crossings



08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, USAR / TF graffiti on business bldg, red zone, Colombo St, between Peterborough St & Kilmore St crossings




08.06.11. Feb 22 quake demolition site & quake trashed brick bldg, red zone, Colombo St, between Peterborough St & Kilmore St crossings. The trashed bldg would be demolished


I trekked Peterborough St to Colombo St, on one cnr an empty demolition site.

Colombo St: Two more empty demolition sites, on both Kilmore St cnrs. E side Colombo St, 22 February Killer Quake, Taiwan & NZ USAR / TF graffiti on 3 businesses: Kwality; Thai Smile Restaurant; The City Club. The bldg would be demolished. Colombo St, eastwards beyond a demolition site, a 2 storey ghost. It would be demolished post June 13 quake.

West side Colombo St: Behind a steel mesh fence cordon, NSW USAR / TF graffiti on a 2 storey ghost, soon demolished. Between two demolition sites, behind a steel mesh fence cordon, a small block of ghost shops on Colombo St, between Peterborough St & Kilmore St: DUSTY OLD THINGS ANTIQUES; FIBRE ZONE; WHISKY GALORE; THE COOK SHOP; MR SUSHI. The shops would be demolished post June 13 Quake. They were a microcosm of businesses destroyed in the quakes. WHISKY GALORE would be rebuilt on Colombo St.


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, block of 5 small shops isolated by quake demolition sites, red zone Colombo St, between Peterborough St & Kilmore St crossings. The 5 shops would be demolished post June 13 quake







08.06.11. Feb 22 quake demolition site, red zone, Kilmore St / Colombo St


Colombo St / Kilmore St crossing: The steel mesh fence cordon on Colombo St in the middle of the road, made Colombo St one-way to Kilmore St, where the steel mesh fence cordon curved towards Town Hall ghost entrance on Kilmore St. Eastwards towards Manchester St, Kilmore St was still steel mesh fence cordoned red zone.

Colombo St: Beyond the steel mesh fence cordon, looking towards Avon River to Christ Church Cathedral ghost, the red zone was dead.


08.06.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red zone cordon, Kilmore St / Colombo St crossing. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, cordon fence view, red zone high rises beyond Avon River, Colombo St / Kilmore St crossing. BNZ left & PWC right would be demolished for the new RC Cathedral precinct. All bldgs in the pic would be demolished


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, Colombo St red zone view, high rises across Avon River towards quake trashed Christ Church Cathedral. Copthorne Hotel middle would be demolished. Forsyth Barr beyond would be repaired as Crowne Plaza Hotel

Five days later, the 13.06.11 Quake, M6.3 would trash Christ Church Cathedral again, the western rose window smashed into rubble, another kaput church. So much for Mother Nature! (Heritage hailers' court cases would obstruct Christ Church Cathedral's demo / rebuild / restoration for years).


08.06.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake demolition site view, quake damaged Christchurch Town Hall, red zone, Colombo St / Kilmore St

08.06.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red zone Kilmore St view, Airbridge between quake damaged Town Hall & Convention Centre. Quake trashed Crowne Plaza Hotel, Copthorne Hotel left, the sky bridge & Convention Centre would all be demolished


Kilmore St: Town Hall ghost entrance was protected by a MAINZEAL porta-cabin, construction office & shipping containers. Orange & yellow, Hi-vis vested workmen, with 1 000 yard stares slouched behind Town Hall glass doors. After years of Council dithering, only in 2015 would Council decide to restore Town Hall at a cost of $127.5 million. (The Press 11.06.15).


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged Christchurch Town Hall entrance, red zone, Kilmore St


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, steel mesh fence cordon & red skips by quake damaged Town Hall, Kilmore St. Quake trashed Crowne Plaza Hotel & Copthorne Hotel beyond, would be demolished. Town Hall would be repaired


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, blue portaloo & shipping container by quake damaged Christchurch Town Hall, red zone, Kilmore St


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, airbridge between quake damaged Christchurch Town Hall & Crowne Plaza Hotel, red zone, Kilmore St. The airbridge & Crowne Plaza Hotel would be demolished


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged Crowne Plaza Hotel & Copthorne Hotel, red zone, Kilmore St. Both hotels would be demolished


08.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake damaged, boarded Crowne Plaza Hotel, red zone, Kilmore St, seen from Victoria St cnr. Crowne Plaza Hotel would be demolished

The Weekend Press June 11-12 reported that Town Hall & Convention Centre were so damaged they wouldn't be opened again for 2.5 years, early 2014 at least. The city heart stopped beating: Christ Church Cathedral, Town Hall, Convention Centre, Arts Centre, Art Gallery, businesses, hotels, restaurants, pubs, all ghosts. Red zone CBD businesses had relocated to suburbs, pitted against slow EQC & insurers, dithering Council, vampire contractors, honeymooning CERA.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, USAR / TF graffiti, boarded Golder Associates, red zone, Kilmore St



08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, USAR / TF graffiti opp Town Hall, red zone, Kilmore St. CLEAR meant no bodies


Kilmore St: The red zone, steel mesh fence cordon continued past Crowne Plaza hotel ghost, windows boarded. Opp Town Hall ghost, businesses were closed. NZ Response Team & NSW USAR / TF graffiti was spray-painted on windows & walls, some windows broken or boarded.

Post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, NZ volunteer Response Teams, NZRT, came from all over NZ. Response Teams & professional USAR / TF teams were trained in Urban Search & Rescue. USAR / TF teams came from all over the world to rescue quake survivors & injured & search for bodies. Most international teams arrived too late to save survivors, but like Response Teams they checked bldgs.

NZ USAR / TF teams did most of the life saving work, with dodgy coordination between cops & fire service managements. Although quicker off the mark, local Response Teams were dogs bodies, doing more escort work & little Search & Rescue. Their life saving skills were poorly managed: The later Royal Commission of Inquiry would show poor Civil Defence coordination amongst USAR / TF teams & Response Teams, due to poor cops & fire service management.

Looking at NZRT & USAR / TF dates & times on bldgs, showed that NZRT & USAR / TF teams checked each others' search work, sometimes days apart.

Example graffiti on Golder Associates bldg, Kilmore St, opp Town Hall:

NZRT2
24 FEB
0148

NSW TF
28/2
0430

At Golder Associates, three people, wearing yellow, plastic, hard hats, scurried in & out of the bldg, salvaging business records & dumping them in an Automobile Association car.


08.06.11. DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red stickered, Feb 22 quake trashed, Christchurch Convention Centre, red zone, Kilmore St. Christchurch Convention Centre would be demolished post June 13 quake



08.06.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake sinkholes, Christchurch Convention Centre, red zone, Kilmore St


Opp Town Hall ghost, Convention Centre ghost: quakemired pavement, 2 steel mesh fence cordoned sinkholes beneath the airbridge, between Convention Centre & Town Hall. Convention Centre & airbridge would be demolished post June 13 Quake.


08.06.11. UNSTABLE WALL. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Kilmore St. Quake trashed Copthorne Hotel left, would be demolished



08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, liquefactioned business, red zone, Kilmore St


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Riverlands House, red zone, Kilmore St / Victoria St. Riverlands House would be demolished post June 13 quake

Except for some walkers, quake tourists, photographers, Manchester St, Peterborough St, Colombo St, Kilmore St & Victoria St by Christchurch Casino were deserted. During my three hour trek through the red zone few cars passed.


08.06.11. Feb 22 quake, Manchester St view, 2 EQC inspectors, wearing yellow, Hi-Vis vests by a blue portaloo, red zone, Kilmore St

Manchester St again:  The 2 EQC inspectors, wearing yellow, Hi-Vis vests, emerged from the house I'd seen them entering. Well paid, ($100/hr) no one bothering them in the red zone, ghost zone.

Manchester St Bridge: At the double steel mesh fence cordon, people stared at the PGC demolition site. People staring behind fence cordons at ghosts & demolitions became habitual in quaked Christchurch. Two SUVs U-turned, bumping back up Manchester St.

Four months post Feb 22 Killer Quake, SUVs & 4x4s were the best vehicles to drive Christchurch patched roads. Our sedan cars were wearing out, dodging potholes, bumps: Sullivan Ave, Richardson Tce, Oxley Ave, Forfar St, Madras St, Bealey Ave, Wairakei Rd... Roads I often drove were dangerous, needing repairs, a fraction of needed road repairs.

The Star 08.06.11 quoted mayor Parker: "Forty five percent of the city's infrastructure including sewerage systems, water supplies, roads and parks were extensively damaged in the earthquake and need to be replaced. While much of this is being paid by insurance and Government subsidies, there is still a shortfall..."

SCIRT, Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Recovery Team, would later be formed to repair Christchurch infrastructure. SCIRT included seconded Council staff & contractors

Thur 09.06.11. Trekked red zone, ghost zone again: Manchester St had new road markings on new tarseal. Yesterday I'd seen road workers marking Manchester St with string. Colombo St / Kilmore St: Orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen laid asphalt on the pavement, opp fence cordoned, Town Hall ghost. I passed a pony-tailed woman, hurrying past Town Hall, horror on her face.


09.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed Knox Presbyterian Church, red zone, Bealey Ave / Victoria St. For many months post June 13 quake, Knox Church weathered, an eyesore & dangerous. 2014 Knox Church would be restored with copper wall panels


Along red zone, ghost zone Manchester St, Cambridge Tce, Peterborough St, Colombo St, Kilmore St, Victoria St, there were many ghosts & demolition sites.

Victoria St / Bealey Ave: Steel mesh fence cordoned, Knox Presbyterian Church ghost: quake trashed, gaping holes through brick, nave walls, 9 months since Sept 4 Darfield Quake damage & Feb 22 Killer Quake trashing. Other ghosts on Victoria St were already demolished. Knox Church would weather, an eyesore, dangerous, for more than 2 years. Only in October 2013 would foundation repairs & rebuild begin on Knox Church. In 2014 Knox Church would be restored with copper wall panels.


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Fitzgerald Ave / Cambridge Tce


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, grey & blue portaloos, red zone, Cambridge Tce / Churchill St


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake liquefactioned driveway, red zone, Cambridge Tce / Churchill St

Fri 10.06.11. Trekking red zone, ghost zone cordons again, beside Avon River, I trekked Cambridge Tce to coolpix Oxford Tce Baptist Church ghost, which I'd glimpsed across sewage polluted Avon River two days before.

Board behind the steel mesh fence cordon:

OUR BUILDING IS CRACKED
THE CHURCH IS FINE!


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone Cambridge Tce view, sewage polluted Avon River & Oxford Tce. Riverbanks collapsed by lateral spreading & a new island formed by liquefaction mud


On another trek along Chester St, I'd coolpixed the back of Oxford Tce Baptist Church, which was damaged in the Sept 4 Darfield Quake, trashed in the Feb 22 Killer Quake, its neo Classic facade obliterated. Oxford Tce Baptist Church would be demolished post June 13 Quake & rebuilt, modern style.


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake cracks & slumping of Avon River bank, red zone, Cambridge Tce. Slumping & cracks were due to lateral spreading



Early days, post Feb 22 Killer Quake, during the National State of Emergency, Fitzgerald Ave / Cambridge Tce was guarded by NZDF soldiers, long gone. Cambridge Tce houses, overlooking Avon River, were yellow stickered, some houses inhabited, some ghosts.


10.06.11. Black plastic covering a wall, Feb 22 quake damaged house, red zone, Cambridge Tce


Cambridge Tce: Beside Avon River, I trekked along the cracked & slumped pavement. Some cracks were about 2m deep, cracking & slumping due to lateral spreading.


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake cracked pavement, Avon River, red zone, Cambridge Tce



Cambridge Tce by Barbadoes St Cemetery: A greystone retaining wall had collapsed for about 100m along the pavement. As it was a rainy morn, cemetery mud from settler graves & quakemire trickled across Cambridge Tce into sewage polluted Avon River. While splashing through muddy puddles, what settler remains was I squelching? Snapped quake toppled, settler grave stones & a grey granite, memorial plaque on an intact bit of the greystone wall:


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake liquefactioned cnr of Barbadoes St cemetery, red zone, Cambridge Tce


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake damage to red zone Cambridge Tce & Barbadoes St Cemetery

TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF CANTERBURY
WHO LIE WITHIN THESE WALLS



10.06.11. Feb 22 quake damaged Barbadoes St Cemetery retaining wall, red zone, Cambridge Tce


10.06.11. Sept 4 & Feb 22 quake damaged grave stones, Barbadoes St Cemetery, red zone, Cambridge Tce


Trekked past tilted Maori pous on Avon River bank. (2022. The pous had been dismantled, just tilted plinths left). Across Barbadoes St, I passed a house demolition site, already weedy. Beyond Barbadoes St, I trekked over smaller quake cracks on the pavement, past the bottom of Salisbury St & Peterborough St, some houses inhabited, some ghosts.


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, Maori pous, red zone, Barbadoes St / Cambridge Tce


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone Cambridge Tce view, sewage polluted Avon River & Kilmore St Fire Service bldg, quake damaged


By The Bricks I looked across Avon River at quake damaged, Fire Service bldg on Kilmore St, still with a makeshift, blue tarp, guard hut in front. A fire engine was parked by the plastic tunnel house, cordoning Kilmore St. Otherwise, Kilmore St was lifeless.


10.06.11. DO NOT ENTER. Steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake red zone, Kilmore St / Madras St Bridge by USA Sept 11 Memorial. The Poplars right would be demolished post June 13 quake


10.06.11. NO ENTRY. Feb 22 quake, red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, E view, Kilmore St towards Fire Service cordon


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, W view, Kilmore St to Manchester St cordon & beyond to Town Hall area


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Madras St Bridge view, sewage polluted Avon River. Oxford Tce left, Cambridge Tce right


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Madras St Bridge view, USA Sept 11 Memorial


10.06.11. Feb 22 quake, red zone, steel mesh fence cordon view, high rises to Latimer Sq, Madras St / Oxford Tce checkpoint. The high rises would be demolished


10.06.11. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Feb 22 quake, red zone, Madras St / Oxford Tce checkpoint. Behind Edmonds clock tower (quakes survivor) The Poplars would be demolished post June 13 quake


Kilmore St / Madras St Bridge: I crossed by the USA, Sept 11 Memorial & snapped Oxford Tce Baptist Church ghost in the red zone.

Madras St / Oxford Tce crossing: Cops & NZDF soldiers check-pointed S bound vehicles into the red zone, ghost zone towards Latimer Sq. CERA would continue variable, military checkpoints by red zone, cordon fencing for another 2 years.

The Poplars multi-storey ghost was tilted, demolished post June 13 Quake. Red zone high rises were as dead as flattened grave stones I'd passed at Barbadoes St Cemetery. Northwards, orange, plastic, road cone cordoned Madras St was dead. Westwards, Kilmore St, mostly steel mesh fence cordoned to the Town Hall, dead.


10.06.11. Steel mesh fence cordon. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed Oxford Tce Baptist Church, seen from Madras St, red zone checkpoint. Oxford Tce Baptist Church would be demolished post June 13 quake & rebuilt


On my drive back to Burnside, I stopped on Colombo St to snap more ghosts near Salisbury St crossing, where an earlier NZDF soldier checkpoint was in the red zone, during the National State of Emergency. 2 storey, ghost housing was boarded up. QLD USAR / TF graffiti was on doors & fences. A so-called heritage house was dead, wooden turret on the ground, roofing gone, rafters exposed to a grey sky. Colombo St ghost houses would all be demolished. Where did all the people go?


10.06.11. Sept 4 quake damaged, Feb 22 quake trashed, red zone, Colombo St housing. The houses would be demolished



*Trekked Manchester St, Cambridge Tce, Colombo St, Kilmore St, Bealey Ave, Madras St. 169 snaps.

Coda:

Heath St: Mon 13.06.11. 1.00pm, M5.6 quake, 11km depth, 10km east of Christchurch. Shook our nectarine tree while I pruned. Spooked our cat on the garden fence. Spilt some of our emergency water cache in our garage, which I'd stored in a wheelie bin. Survival note: Don't fill wheelie bins to the top with emergency water. We also stored emergency water in plastic bottles & plastic bags in our scullery & in a garage cupboard. 

1.08pm, M4.4 quake, depth 11km, 10km SE Christchurch.

2.20pm, M6.3 quake, 9km depth, 10km SE of Christchurch (GeoNet). For some hours GeoNet recorded the June 13 Quake as M6, then upgraded it to M6.3, after consulting seismology machines at various points.

Our house swayed, trees swayed while I stood braced in our back doorway. I watched the seismic wave undulate across my vision & felt it beneath my feet, from E to W, like an ocean swell below a boat, deep rumbling underfoot. Our wooden Burnside house on piles was OK, once again.

London St: Leah's school was liquefactioned again, as in the Feb 22 Killer Quake, mud boils, water flooding. June 13 Quake, M6.3, threw Leah around in the carpark, hurting her back. She drove home to Burnside in gridlock traffic, some traffic lights not working.

One News, 6pm: Liquefactioned Christchurch E suburbs.
Liquefactioned Merivale & Ferry Rd area.
47 000 customers without power (20 000 by 10.30pm news).
Telecom recommended customers text to obviate landline jams.
Shop bldg collapsed, Stanmore Rd / Worcester St (near Leah's school).
Empty bldgs collapsed in CBD red zone.
No fatalities.
Pic of quake dust cloud over Christchurch.
Pic of quake dust cloud over Scarborough.
Rockfalls at Shag Rock, Sumner, Boulder Bay.
Pages Rd Bridge, Bridge St Bridge, Anzac Bridge, Waimakariri Bridge closed.
Schools closed until damage / safety checked.

Usually I did weekly shopping at Northlands Pak 'n Save on Monday afternoons. Luckily I did it on Monday morning for the first time in months. Last place I wanted to be during a quake was Pak 'n Save, palleted top shelves looming. The dark, undercover parking spooked me at the best of times, tons of loose concrete roof / floor panels above.

Couple of months later I would decide not to shop at Northlands Mall anymore. I disliked many quake cracks in the undercover parking, concrete columns, roof beams & wall slabs, repaired with epoxy glue. I thought epoxy glue would tear apart in the next big quake. Northlands Mall undercover parking concrete wasn't the only post quake, concrete slab bldgs I saw repaired with epoxy glue.

June 13 Quake: Widespread liquefaction flooding & mudding in riverine, estuarine, lake, lagoon areas, showed Christchurch reverting to swampland.

Mon 13.06.11, M6.3 quake, epicentre near Sumner, a 30m wide chunk of Whitewash Head cliffs at the end of Scarborough collapsed into the Pacific. Destructive energies of the June 13 Quake was horizontal instead of vertical, hence the boatie, wave like feel.

Seismologists didn't know much about Christchurch quakes, as they based their knowledge on plate boundary, Californian San Andreas Fault & NZ Alpine Fault data, so learned ad hoc from each new, shallow, crustal fault quake in & around Christchurch. (The Press 15.06.11). Seismologists just recorded quakes & were useless at quake predictions.

Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.